Randomness

Ok, so the way I’ve been picturing it is that Miyeong fell in love with a demon after being rejected by Celine and Thirdlight (whom I dub Poppy for this) and had Rumi. Celine, after discovering the truth, went to kill the demon. Miyeong got in the way, but didn’t notice the arrow flying towards the demon from another angle, which Celine pushed her into on accident.

Thus, demon dad dies at Celine’s hands and Miyeong dies at thirdlights after being shoved in the way of the arrow by Celine (who wasn’t targeting Miyeong).

The two hunters grieve the loss of their third hunter, equally cursing and mourning her because if she’d just “done her duty” this wouldn’t have happened. They pointedly ignore the obvious, that their refusal to admit how they really felt drove her away from them.

Because, y’see, the two hunters had rejected Miyeong in a rather… harsh manner. They’d laughed it off like it was a joke, telling her that that was amusing until she laughed awkwardly and left it alone. The two of them had talked about it after, dancing around how they really feel about her until finally admitting they do love her like that.

Yet, they both agree coming forwards with those kinds of feelings would interfere with both their jobs as hunters and risk their positions as idols. They talked about retirement, about offering apologies and reciprocations about the love they have for her.

Somehow, the thought that Miyeong would take it as a rejection and move on never occurred to them. When they’d discovered she had a boyfriend they’d been heartbroken, but had tried to be supportive.

Right up until they found a breach, finding Miyeong and a demon protecting a baby.

Everything after that had been a blur until all they’d been left with was ash, a cold corpse, and a crying infant. Poppy… she hadn’t wanted anything to do with the demonic child. She’d told Celine to do what she wants with it, she… she needs space. Poppy says she isn’t sure when she’ll be back, but she does promise to lay Miyeong to rest.

Celine is so out of it she doesn’t realize Poppy was leaving until after she already took Miyeong. Celine considered killing the infant, but the Honmoon made it very clear that she is one of the chosen future hunters.

Celine’s mental health… declines, to say the least. Miyeongs gravestone is rigorously cleaned every single morning and night, and Celine cuts herself off from everyone she knew before her death.

But the most noticeable, and dangerous part, is how she treats Rumi as she’s growing.

Now, something to keep in mind about humans; we are very adaptable creatures. We can learn a language regardless of where we are originally from, and most people can pick up a skill after a few days/weeks of watching/doing the task of said skill.

All that to say, Rumi is raised as an animal. A very intelligent animal that can think and speak, but an animal nonetheless.

Rumi responds to threats with teeth and claws before words, regardless of the source of the threat. Celine tries to “train” that out of her, but instead it just makes Rumi fight back more aggressively.

This continues until Rumi is twelve, by which time all her demonic traits are on full display. Celine “trains” her each morning to force her to do what she says during the day, which is filled with both combat training and singing training, even though Rumi doesn’t sing.

It’s not that she can’t, but she figured out early that singing made the Honmoon happier, which is what Celine wanted. Now, I know most Feral!Rumi au’s have Rumi viewing Celine as her “master”, but I’ve always been partial to the idea that without Rumi’s intense sense of duty she’d be a very, very stubborn person.

So, Rumi doesn’t sing when Celine can hear her. Instead opting to sing at night, heart wrenching songs with naught but the forest as her audience.

The forest, which has eyes.

Now, for the fun part of this au!

Y’see, Poppy couldn’t bury Miyeong under the tree. She knows how much Miyeong hated that idea, of being stuck somewhere so cold and unwelcoming. Instead, she buried Miyeong in the forest she loved so much, under an old oak tree that the three of them often raced to and from during training. She left things there, to mark the grave and act as a memory.

A sliver of wood from Miyeong’s first training sword, shattered when she blocked a blow from their mentors meant to “teach” Celine a lesson.

Her bujeok, which she’d let behind when her contractions had started by accident. (Protective charm she was given by a mudang.)

A drop of blood, from Celine and herself, to always leave a piece of themselves with Miyeong.

And a hairpin, metal in its nature, that Miyeong had given Poppy so she, Celine, and Miyeong could match.

Poppy visited the grave once a month for the next several years. She lived on Jeju, never able to bring herself to face Celine after placing the false headstone in the hunter’s cemetery.

She did, however, miss a fox. A fox who had been shot by a hunter, who’d fled, and laid itself to rest at the very same tree.

She missed it, because its body was taken by the Honmoon and used to change Miyeong over the course of a decade.

On a night like any other, a clawed hand burst from the dirt by the tree. Miyeong, reborn, or perhaps reawakened, tore her way out of the earth that would have been her tomb. Her body feels different, too aware of everything around her and more powerful then even the Honmoon used to make her, though she can still feel it.

She’s confused until she sees the tails attached to her, which admittedly panicked her for a time before she figured out parts of what must’ve happened. The how, admittedly, escapes her. But the why does not.

She must find her daughter.

Or, Kit. If she’s feeling mischievous. Which she is, moreso then usual.

Spotting the hairpin, Miyeong pulled it back so she could run freely before covering the hole rapidly with her tails. Shes not entirely sure where she is, only that she needs to find the compound where her daughter surely is.

She spends the next two years learning how to navigate the forest, occasionally listening as a heart wrenching song drifts through the trees at night. She finally finds the compound as Rumi finishes singing, and watches as she shuts the door.

Even from her position at the edge of the woods, Miyeong can recognize Rumi by her scent. It’s her daughter, of that she’s sure. But… would Rumi want to see her, like this?

Like a monster?

In the cloudy night, not even Miyeongs now excellent night vision let her see how Rumi looked now. Rumi has to cover her patterns, even at night, by Celine’s orders.

It helped cover the bruises as well.

Miyeong decided to watch her daughter, to ensure she was safe and cared for as she had hoped. If Rumi was happy, in spite of the sorrowful song, then she’d simply watch over her while she still lived in the forest.

And, when she inevitably left, she would speak to Celine who would likely stay behind.

As Miyeong slept, she remembered watching Poppy as she cared for the grave that actually housed Miyeong’s body. How she’d wept, apologizing for everything and begging for forgiveness.

She almost spoke to her, so many times over those two years. But her instincts are far stronger, now. She’s aware of what a Gumiho does, even if she herself does not do such things. She knows that approaching Thirdlight like this would be painting a target on her back saying “I’m trying to trick you, shoot me!”

As fun as it had been last time, Miyeong would rather not get hit by one of those spectral arrows again.

The morning came with a loud thwack, followed by a scream of pain that awoke Miyeong. Laying on the ground inside the compound was Rumi, her shirt turning red from where Celine had struck at her with some kind of weapon.

Miyeong watched in growing horror, listening as Celine spewed hatred for Rumi, for what “she’d done” to Miyeong.

That horror turned to anger when she struck Rumi again, and this time she could see the instrument of her pain.

A scythe.

Miyeong moved, instinct overriding logic.

She’d never entered her full war form, didn’t even know she had one, until she’d seen her kit be hurt.

She didn’t know she could bypass the wards around the compound, until she was already inside and halfway to Rumi.

She had no way to know this, but when she arrived skidding to a halt and standing over Rumi, the poor girl somehow recognized the mighty fox as a protector, as a friend.

And so, Celine was sent flying by a surprise strike from one of the nine tails, the scythe clattering away. Miyeong didn’t hesitate, didn’t try to threaten or speak to Celine. She simply acted.

Reaching under her with gentle teeth, she picked up Rumi and placed her among her tails which curled around the young half demon protectively. Then, with a single glance at Celine’s slowly standing form, she ran.

She ran into the forest, letting her paws and sense of smell guide her. Let herself follow the familiar scent trail, one that her instincts told her now was her best hope of protecting Rumi.

She skidded to a halt outside a cottage in the woods, miles from where Celine and the hunters compound stood. She stopped outside it, panting in confusion for a moment until she heard it.

A voice came from the right, one that was much harsher then she had ever heard it outside of demon fighting… and the night she died.

Miyeong turned, facing Poppy, in a terrible mirror of the past. Miyeong, guarding her child, and Thirdlight, fulfilling her duty.

But something is different this time, though neither woman could name it. Miyeong lets her form collapse, the tails wrapping around her until all that remains is Miyeong, eyes silver, standing in front of the demonic child she almost left behind.

Poppy’s hand trembles, but she keeps the bow steady. She doesn’t know what to think, because she remembers burying Miyeong, hell, she even visited her grave yesterday!

Yet her soul is screaming, crying out for the embrace of the woman she killed who now watches her with wary eyes. Shes wearing thin robes that look handwoven, the patterns similar to the shimmer of the fox coat she’d been wearing moments ago.

Poppy takes a breath, and makes her choice.

The bow drops.

And she runs to Miyeong.

This manages to catch her off guard, so when Poppy grabs her in a desperate embrace Miyeong is frozen for a moment, arms flailing for a second before they wrapped tightly around her back.

Poppy let her tears fall, and Miyeong found herself close behind as she held on third of her soul for the first time since her death. The two stand there for a time, simply holding each other and basking in the knowledge that they are there.

Right up until the sound of Rumi passing out and hitting the ground interrupts them. Normally, Celine would’ve patched the wounds up after she finished with the morning “training” to keep the half demon from bleeding out, but she hadn’t had that chance today.

Miyeong released Poppy immediately, spinning and crouching next to Rumi. Carefully lifting her off the ground, she turns to face the stunned woman, who’s looking between Rumi and Miyeong with confusion. A glance at the red on the ground seems to connect the dots for her, as she immediately rushes to the cottage, telling Miyeong to bring her inside.

The two work in tandem, carefully disinfecting and stitching the cuts on Rumi’s back. There’s a latticework of scars there, each one similar to the wounds delivered just that morning and in varying freshness. Miyeong doesn’t speak, and neither does Poppy’s. There is time for conversations after Rumi is cared for.

After what feels like an eternity the last stitch is pulled, sealing the wound in Rumi’s back completely. The two carefully maneuver her up and wrap her in bandages, which only highlights how thin the poor girl is. It’s obvious she hasn’t been eating enough.

Finally, they put a large shirt over her and lay her on Poppy’s bed. She needs to rest, and they need to talk. Thirdlight offers to make tea, which Miyeong happily agrees to.

The silence stretches, becoming tense and a little awkward as the two regard each other while waiting on the tea. The ding of the timer barely cuts through the tension, and then the tea is served and the two of them do something they struggled with before a decade of death separated them.

Open communication.

Miyeong, surprisingly, is the one to start it. She quietly says she’s missed Poppy, and that she forgives her.

This catches Poppy very off guard, and she sputters out that she doesn’t deserve forgiveness before a slender hand gently shushes her by covering her mouth. Miyeong says that since she’s the one that died she gets to forgive Poppy for her death.

Poppy starts crying again, asking how Miyeong can just… forgive her like that. Miyeong simply pulls her into a hug, saying that her life before was one filled with far too many lies. She forgave Poppy the moment she saw her after being reborn, and her only regret was not coming to her sooner.

Poppy’s tears slow down after a few minutes, her breathing evening out as she wipes her eyes, asking what Miyeong remembers. She lets her hand rest on Miyeong’s as the Gumiho considers the question, eyes flashing silver in the gentle light from outside.

She says that her memory’s are somewhat fuzzy, but the big moments are still there. She remembers the day she ran away from home, getting away from her homophobic father. She remembers the day she met Celine, how they’d fought at first for weeks until the physical “training” started.

She says she remembers stopping that training, and almost breaking her arm in doing so. Miyeong pauses for a moment, not meeting Poppy’s eyes as she says she remembers Poppy’s arrival, and the way their mentors tried to get her to see the “training” their way at first and how it almost worked.

The elderly hunter flinches at that, going to draw her hand back, but Miyeong catches it, meeting her eyes. Miyeong remembers the day Poppy saw the first and last time their mentor tried to “train” the two hunters again.

Poppy had gotten in the way, and Miyeong and Celine had worked to take down their mentor, and then helped Poppy recover.

Poppy’s tears have begun falling again, but Miyeong squeezes her hand in a signal that she’s not done. Poppy meets her eyes, and she knows Miyeong remembers.

She says it anyways. She tells Poppy she remembers confessing to the two of them, and how they laughed at her. How she met a man, a demon in disguise who ultimately wasn’t evil, and had a child with him.

And she says she remembers how she gave birth, and minutes later the demon she loved was slain by Celine, and how Poppy’s arrow aimed for the demon struck her instead.

Poppy let’s put a ragged sob, her mind going back to the worst night of her life, the image of Miyeongs body chilled in her arms still etched into her memory. With a sad smile Miyeong pulls her into a hug, rubbing circles into her back. It takes a lot longer for her to calm down this time, long enough for a certain someone to wake up in the other room.

To say Rumi was confused would be an understatement. She’s laying on something far softer then the basement, but there’s still light out so she can’t be outside. As her eyes slowly adjust, she can’t make out a small but cozy room. The decorations are sparse with the exception of a photograph on the wall.

Rumi can’t help the way she flinches and growls as she recognizes Celine in the photo, but the sound dies as she takes in the contents of the photo.

Celine, smiling (she can smile?) standing with an arm around a slightly shorter woman with a braid, and on the other side of her a woman with two braids wrapped in tight balls on the top of her head.

Something about the woman in the middle, the one with the braid, reminds her of something.

A white blur, gentle warmth, the sounds of feet pattering through the forest as if with padded feet.

Rumi blinks. Then she moves. If Celine isn’t nearby, then she could probably sneak into the forest to see that fox den she’d befriended a few years ago. As her feet hit the cold wooden boards beneath her, something tickles at the back of her mind again, a scent in the air that’s lingering

A giant silver form above her, the smell of pine and earth surrounding her, so unlike the stale air in the basement from that morning.

Rumi stumbles for a moment as she stands, spots appearing before her eyes as she crouches against the wave of dizziness. She blinked rapidly as ringing faded in then out of her ears. The sensations passed quickly, leaving Rumi crouched on the ground with a hand covering her face.

Looking up, Rumi felt her eyes dilate as they tracked movement from the partially open door. A slender hand pushed against the edge of it, slowly opening it further to let in the woman from the photograph.

The smell from before floods the room, the same from that strange creature that took her from Celine. Her face is kind, if twisted with a strange emotion she had only ever seen from Celine on one specific day a year, a day Celine would train Rumi much more aggressively then usual.

Rumi had never been told the name for grief.

But she had been taught what follows it.

Rumi moved, launching claws first at the mystery woman. But she didn’t respond with a counter blow, as Celine would have. She didn’t summon a blade, cutting Rumi’s arm in a way that would make it difficult to fight for days.

She didn’t even try to block Rumi.

Instead, the woman stepped into the lunge, avoiding the claws and bringing her arms up in a gentle grapple. It’s unlike anything Rumi’s felt, warm and comforting.

Rumi freaks out. Her claws dig into the woman’s back, leaving trails that don’t bleed, instead sealing instantly. Instead of releasing Rumi, her grip shifts, holding Rumi with one arm while the other slowly rubbed circles in her back while humming something.

The tune isn’t one Rumi knows, but it still freezes her desperate scrambling and growling. It’s a song that Rumi has heard exactly once, twelve years ago and moments after her birth.

She’s not sure why, but her cheeks are wet as the woman continues to hold her, humming that tune. They haven’t been wet since she was very little.

Rumi was never told what tears are called.

The half demon slumps, her mind quieting as the woman gently lifts her up and into her arms. Shes laid back into the bed, a gentle kiss placed on her brow as the woman tucks her back in.

Rumi slips off into sleep, the hazy image of a silver fox dancing across her vision.

Miyeong doesn’t stop humming until Rumi is asleep, her breathing deep and even. With silent steps she leaves the room, gently shutting the door behind her. Waiting in the kitchen, or rather pacing, is Poppy. She looks over at Miyeong, asking if the de- Rumi is alright.

Miyeong raises a brow at the slip up, before shaking her head. Celine had been treating her how you should treat a demon, and Rumi had learned to react as such. She’s lucky that the song she sang exactly once to Rumi worked to comfort her, but she admits it worries her that Rumi’s life has been so devoid of comfort that a memory from her birth is enough to send her to sleep.

Miyeong hesitates for a moment before asking why Poppy didn’t help raise Rumi, or at least ensure she was safe. The elderly hunter looks away in shame, unable to meet Miyeong’s eyes as she admits that she couldn’t see Rumi as anything more than Miyeong’s…

She doesn’t finish the sentence, but even after all these years Miyeong still knows what she was going to say; Miyeong’s mistake.

If this conversation had taken place before her death, Miyeong would’ve gotten angry. She might’ve chewed out Poppy for saying something like that about her daughter, and herself. She might’ve tried to attack Poppy about her poor relationship choices and poorly hidden desire for Celine. (And, now that Miyeong looks back, for herself as well.)

But becoming something inhuman changes someone.

Miyeong pulls Poppy into another hug, humming the first song they’d written together to get the woman to stop freaking out internally. Poppy whispers apologies into her shoulder, apologies for failing to care for Rumi, apologies for running away, apologies for killing her.

The two eventually sit down to drink the now cold tea, letting the fragile calm settle between them. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. They have something stolen from them years ago.

Time.

The next few years would pass both quickly and slowly after that.

Rumi slowly learns to let her human be as present as the demonic parts of her, slowly realizing that she doesn’t have to always live in fight or flight. She learns of her mother, and who her mother now is, as well as her Imo Poppy. She heals, both mentally and physically, from the harm Celine caused.

Rumi is happy.

Poppy slowly learns to forgive herself, letting go of the past and her part of it. She eventually manages to let her feelings for Miyeong no longer be a source of guilt, instead becoming a source of strength. (They kiss after the third year. There are still things left unsaid, but less then before.)

Poppy is content.

Miyeong learns to accept that she cannot always take blame for everything, or make assumptions about what others really feel. She doesn’t let people lie to her anymore, instead she learns to get them to open up about the truth. (She still teases Poppy about how she rejected her but was so obvious in her pining.)

Miyeong is calm.

It’s not until 7 years later that Miyeong, Poppy, and Rumi feel it. The Honmoon is calling out for aid from its hunters.

A breach.

The trio move quickly, the years of familiarity and training allowing the family to move quickly. Poppy (who was upgraded from Imo to Eomma, frets and has Rumi being a scarf.) their arrival is a silent one, and they take a moment to survey the breach.

It’s massive. The lack of public appearances from Poppy (and unbeknownst to them after years of isolation, Celine), has weakened the Honmoon greatly. Dozens upon dozens of demons are pouring out, all of them rushing towards the opposite end of the road from where they are.

The three of them can just barely make out the shapes on the other side, blue lights flashing rapidly as demons are slain. They cannot see the wielders of said weapons, but they know who they are.

Celine, and if Miyeong had to guess, Rumi’s other hunters.

When Rumi hears this, she hesitates. She knows what it’s supposed to be, an unbreakable bond of trust and shared understanding. But after what happened to her mom, her Eomma, and Celine… she isn’t sure what to expect. No doubt Celine has told them horror story’s of the demon that escaped, many of which were likely true.

(It’s not her fault she took a chunk outta Celine’s arm, she decided to try using a cattle prod on Rumi. A fact Rumi actually prided herself of stopping that particular form of abuse, which she can now identify.)

Miyeong tells her it’ll be ok, that she and Poppy will protect her if they end up talking to the new hunters and Celine. Then, the three of them move. Miyeong doesn’t bother shifting, instead opting to use her sword. Together, the trio cut the stream of demons off at the source, closing the breach quickly and making the number of enemies finite.

They sing one of the oldest sunlight sister songs, and across the battlefield three voices join in. The first Rumi recognizes as Celine, cold yet firm.

The second… it’s like the laughter of a child, soothing and playful. It makes her feel the odd desire to begin searching it out, so she could continue to hear it by simply being near it.

The third is deep, husky like the grind of stone on stone in a river bed. It’s the kind of voice Rumi could fall asleep too, gently enjoying the knowledge someone is watching out for her.

The two groups voices overlap, intertwining into a single, impossibly powerful wave of force that empowers the Honmoon around them. With one last powerful sweep of her blade, Rumi sends a shockwave through the dozen or so demons still between them, watching as they disintegrated into ash.

A blade, longer than she is tall, flies towards her. On instinct, Rumi brings her blade up in a perfect parry. The woman wielding the blade had committed to the lunge, and now found herself stumbling into the waiting half demon.

A patterned hand closed around her throat, but did not squeeze. The other two hunters behind her froze as Rumi looked into one third of her soul, the bright pink hair reminding her of her own hair. With a small huff, Rumi released her, teleporting to backwards to evade a thrown blade from the shorter hunter.

Miyeong is next to her a moment later, standing in front of her with her sword raised. She gives Rumi a signal, one meant to say “get us out of here.” Rumi didn’t hesitate, reaching forwards and grabbing Miyeong by the shoulder and Poppy by the hand. With a puff, the three of them vanished.

The last thing Rumi sees is the the pink haired girl looking at her in confusion, the shorter one with shock, and Celine…

Celine looks…

Scared?

After they arrive back home, the three of them talk for a minute, but Rumi is too tired from teleporting them all and goes to bed. Miyeong and Poppy go to bed shortly thereafter, knowing they’ll need to talk in the morning.

Back at the battle, Zoey is checking on Mira. They’re both shaken by what they’d seen, but are otherwise ok. They’re also a bit confused why the demon didn’t just kill Mira when it had her in its claws.

Celine, however, is still frozen. She can barely believe what she’d seen, even though she witnessed it herself.

Rumi, the poor girl she tortured for over a decade simply for what her father was, wielding a Saingeom and voice as lethal weapons. Her patterns that were once that deep, angry purple, had lightened into a more pink color. She hadn’t looked out of control or wild like when Celine would try to discipline her, she just looked… like a hunter.

Poppy had been behind her, her bow wielded with all the skill decades of practice brings. She’d been singing too, harmonizing with Celine for the first time in years. She looked as beautiful as Celine remembers, aged as fine wine might be (if Celine hadn’t stopped drinking six years ago.)

But the reason she was frozen? Why she was so scared?

Because Miyeong was there.

She looked different from Celine’s memory’s, weather worn and with a sharp gaze that wasn’t there before. She’d looked at Celine with such anger, such… hatred.

That wasn’t an expression she’d ever seen directed at her by Miyeong since those moments before her death, all those years ago.

Finally, Celine shakes herself out of her stupor. Whatever just happened, whatever is happening, it’s time. She needs to find Rumi, find out what Poppy did to help her become human… and find out if it’s really Miyeong.

She tells Mira and Zoey to come with her back to the compound. Zoey starts a barrage of questions (having recognized both Poppy and Miyeong) but Celine cuts her off, saying they can talk later.

Mira and Zoey share a look. Celine’s always been… tight lipped, to say the least, but the way she’d reacted said there was a lot she’s been holding back from them.

The two argue in the car about what it all means. The re-emergence of a supposedly dead sunlight sister, the appearance of the missing Poppy, and the freaking demon wielding a weapon from the Honmoon.

They don’t get any answers that night. Celine sends them to bed, telling them they’ll talk soon. She tells them that she needs to find some old journals, and do some research tonight, before telling them everything.

They go to bed, reluctantly. She hears Mira’s door shut and the hushed whispers of conversation, knowing that it’ll last well into the night. She can only hope they’ll be too tired in the morning to realize what exactly her actions in the past meant.

Seven years.

For three years, Celine was alone after Miyeong rescued Rumi. The first year was spent searching for Rumi, trying to figure out what a Gumiho was doing there and how it breached the defenses of the hunters compound. That year was marked with extremely heavy drinking, a shame that compiled with the rest.

You see, without Rumi there to “reinforce” the idea of her being a feral demon, the less Celine could convince herself that that was all she was. Each day Rumi wasn’t there, Celine’s mind would show her the moments she refused to acknowledge before.

How, when she was four, Rumi had climbed a tree and fallen asleep. When Celine had come to get her, she’d laughed with such an easy joy that for a moment all she’d heard was Miyeong.

When Rumi was six, she’d had a nightmare and come to Celine’s room, crawling into bed with her and falling asleep in her arms. She’d been so small, so fragile. And her patterns had only spread to her arm.

Only.

She was only six and a half, Celine is fairly sure, when the patterns spread too far to ignore. Rumi had argued with Celine over something stupid, something to do with laundry, and Rumi had… she’d hissed at Celine.

Looking back, Celine remembers the children’s books she’d read to prepare for Rumi. How it said sometimes certain children mimic animal noises more often than others.

But all Celine had seen in that moment was a demon finally waking up. That had been the first night Celine had struck Rumi, telling her that hissing is what demons do. Rumi had run away to her room, sobbing, and slammed the door.

Celine had gone up a half hour later, guilt gnawing at her and with a plate of cut up and skinned apples. She’d opened the door, an apology and explanation on her lips.

An apology that vanished when she saw Rumi.

Rumi, who was standing looking in the mirror, whose eyes met Celine’s from the reflection.

A reflection that contained a glowing eye.

Things only escalated from there.

Each time Rumi exhibited another trait Celine dubbed “demonic” Rumi would be punished. Celine always felt guilty after, but it was necessary. That’s what she told herself. It’s necessary to teach the demon to stay down.

But if never did stay down.

No matter how much Celine tried, no matter how she “trained” Rumi, the demonic side would win out. She would scream, she’d sob, she’d try to fight Celine or even growl at her. And the patterns, oh the patterns. They were spread across her whole body before her eighth birthday.

The next four years had been… well, they’d been a blur. Celine had begun drinking, back then. Not to the extent of her year of searching, but still. It was enough that the guilt of her actions would fade, her disgust at doing this to Miyeongs daughter would vanish, leaving just the distaste for the half demon monster Miyeong left behind.

Right up until Rumi was take. Then everything fell apart.

Breaches appeared regularly, and without Rumi to help take pressure off her Celine was hard pressed to evade the dozens of claws aimed at her. Celine tried to ignore the part of her that wished Rumi was there.

She lost her eye two years after Rumi’s escape. It’d been a bad night, with three separate breach’s opening consecutively leaving her exhausted. A demon had gotten a lucky hit in and destroyed her eye. She was lucky an eyepatch could cover it, once all the surgery’s were done.

Three years after Rumi left, she found Mira. Or rather, Mira found her, bleeding out in an alleyway after a particularly nasty breach with two of the Saja. Mira had taken her to the crappy apartment she was living in and patched her up as best she could, then helped her get back to the hotel Celine was staying at that night.

Celine had managed to convince the girl to stay with her, saying she’d need help for the next few days and that she’s willing to pay. Mira had reluctantly agreed, and three days into living with Celine had grown comfortable enough around her to admit she could see the Honmoon.

(Of course, it helped that Celine had been singing and the barrier had danced around her in joy first.)

Mira had come home with her. She learned that certain questions weren’t allowed, thought not through punishment. Instead, it would be because of how withdrawn Celine would become, asking for space or sometimes walking away.

They found Zoey only six months later, in the dark of a stormy night. She’d been running away from a group of bullies who were trying to attack her, the same ones who’d been targeting her since she’d moved to Korea. Mira had beaten the crap out of them, and Celine threatened them into silence with guarantees of legal action on her end.

Zoey agreed to come home with her the next week, with her mother’s blessing. It took her longer to understand that certain questions weren’t allowed then Mira, but she also learned that it was still ok to ask other types of questions. Questions about how Miyeong and Poppy were before their debut, if they were as nervous as Zoey is.

The two ended up debuting three years later. The Honmoon needed them, and so they answered as best they could. Their songs were good, amazing even, but they could tell it wasn’t enough. Celine promised she was trying to find their third, but they were beginning to wonder just how hard she was actually trying.

Then, one year after their debut, Celine called them. She invited them home to talk, said she needed to tell them some things about her past, and why their jobs will be much harder then any hunters have been in the past.

When they’d arrived, she picked them up from the airport. But then a breach had happened, right next to where they were driving. So they’d gotten out and began to fight.

They were quickly surrounded.

The demons pressed in, their voices becoming strained as they tried to hold back the massive force. They all could tell it wasn’t going to be enough.

But then more voices joined in. A powerful voice, like rivers running in the woods, matched by the winds of the mountains blowing down across the fields.

The voices of two woman Celine had only heard in recordings for nearly two decades.

But there was a third voice, striking and sharp. Similar to the first, but unique in the timber, the beat, the… tone. She knows that voice. It’s one she hasn’t heard in years, and certainly older.

With a final note, the last of the demons are denigrated in a powerful wave of light. Rumi stood from her crouch, eyes meeting Celine’s instantly. A second later it was broken my Mira’s attempt to skewer her, and Celine watched in a mix of pride and horror as Rumi easily parried the blow, snatching Mira by the throat.

Then she released her and stepped back, and Celine’s eyes met the other two woman’s. Poppy and Miyeong.

No wonder she knew those voices. No wonder Miyeong looked at her with such hatred with those strange silver eyes. No wonder Poppy looked at Celine like she was a stranger.

Celine woke that next morning exhausted, her dreams having been plagued by years of memories. She knows what she has to do. She promised the girls an explanation, and they’ve earned it.

They’re already up by the time she goes downstairs. They’d made tea for her, a sentiment she appreciated since she knew it might be the last time it would happen.

They sat down in the kitchen, nursing their tea’s as Celine began to speak. She began with Miyeong’s demonic lover, how she truly died, and what became of her daughter. She didn’t downplay her part in it, didn’t lessen what she’d done. The girls deserved better than to be lied to.

She also explained how she guessed Miyeong was reincarnated somehow, though the how isn’t what Celine knows. She says she knows the why. It was to save her daughter from the monster Celine had become.

The kitchen falls quiet as Celine’s past sins finally come to light. She can’t bear to look at Mira or Zoey, and the two of them aren’t sure what to do. Mira breaks the silence, asking if there’s any way for them to talk to Rumi or the other two woman.

Celine hesitates before admitting that there is a way, a way to call someone to your location with the Honmoon. She quietly admits she’d been avoiding teaching it to them because it would’ve signaled their location to Rumi, and she wasn’t sure what mental state she might’ve been in after everything Celine had done.

Mira unconsciously brushed her neck, where Rumi had grabbed her. There wasn’t even any bruising, something Celine hadn’t realized last night.

With a sigh, Celine said she’d teach them, but they would have to meet with Rumi and the others by themselves. Zoey goes to protest but hesitates, realizing the same thing Celine and Mira knew.

If they saw the source of Rumi’s pain from her childhood, then the odds of them being willing to talk were… low, to say the least.

So, Celine led them to the courtyard. Conversation was sparse, Mira and Zoey still reeling from the revelations about Celine’s past and trying to reconcile it with the kind of closed off woman who’d helped train them and get them to debut.

It’s a short lesson, to be honest. It’s supposed to be one of the earliest tricks a hunter learns, because of how crucial it is to keep them safe over a wider breach area. Celine had managed to justify not teaching it ti them since they were one member short, but that excuse was flimsy at best.

She’d been afraid. Afraid that Rumi, or heavens forbid Poppy, would come to find its source. But now… now it’s time for Celine to step back.

She leaves them in the courtyard, advising they step outside the grounds to avoid the wards keeping Rumi away from them. Celine heads back to the house, shoulders slumped in defeat. She knows she doesnt deserve forgiveness for what she’s done to Rumi and Miyeong. She can only hope now that they won’t associate Mira and Zoey with her actions.

Zoey and Mira agree to step outside the front gates but to keep them open, on the off chance their attacked. As they’re walking to it, Zoey asks what Mira thinks of it all.

Mira considers the question, before letting out a sigh. Celine is a woman wracked with guilt, that much is obvious. But that guilt doesn’t erase the past, even a past that they weren’t a part of. Mira glances back at the house, noting the drawn curtains on Celine’s room.

When they reach the gate, Mira pauses, making Zoey pause as well. At Zoey questioning look, Mira looks pointedly back at the house.

“If Celine wants to ever try and begin to improve, she has to start by facing her mistakes, not hiding.” Mira shrugs. “But only she can do it.”

The two open the gates after that, thoughts turning from their mentor and to their third hunter and the now revived and found hunters.

With a deep breath, Zoey flicks the Honmoon, sending out a distress signal.

Nothing happens. Of course, they were expecting that. Celine had explained that the signal can travel roughly the speed of sound, but would still take time if someone’s too far away. If they-

A puff of mist on a nearby tree has them both jumping and grabbing their weapons, Zoey cutting off the train of thought as she focuses. Rumi tilts her head curiously at them, crouching, before letting out an annoyed huff.

Leaning back, Rumi uses her claws to slow her rotation on the branch before letting herself drop to the ground, landing on all fours. The mental image of a tiger strikes Mira, but she doesn’t move.

Rumi slowly approaches them, eyes focused on their weapons, and stops several feet away from them. The three regard one another, eyes taking in each others appearance in the daylight.

Zoey whispers to Mira, saying she should apologize. At Mira’s hissed questioning as to why do I need to apologize?? Zoey points out that Mira did try to stab her.

Mira begrudgingly apologizes, dispelling her weapon with Zoey following suit. Rumi blinks at them in surprise at the gesture before standing up all the way and walking right up to them, stopping within arms reach.

Zoey breaks the silence before it becomes awkward, asking if Rumi likes tigers. She (and Mira) are both surprised when Rumi says she does, before following up with her own apology for grabbing Mira’s neck.

That actually helps break the ice, with Zoey continuously asking Rumi questions with Mira occasionally chiming in, all while Rumi answered and looked them over. It lasts for about tent minutes before a crunch comes from behind the girls. The two of them turn as Rumi greets her Eomma, and they freeze when they see a Gumiho in her full war form.

On Miyeongs back rides Poppy, who gives the two new hunters a wary look. Mira squeaks out a hello, eyes trained on the fox, and Zoey can only shakily wave. Rumi, shocking the two of them, wraps her arms around their shoulders, telling her Eomma to stop scaring her hunters.

(Her voice is close to their ears, making goosebumps raise. Shes shockingly warm and solid, her arms heavy in the way muscle is. Mira and Zoey notice all of this immediately and begin blushing at the casual way Rumi’s now hanging off of them.)

Miyeongs form collapses until all that’s left is Miyeong, now piggybacking Poppy with a sly grin. She apologizes to the two girls, saying she wanted to ensure that Rumi was safer with them than her.

They don’t need to ask who she means.

Poppy invites them to follow her and her wife (Zoey’s little shipper heart nearly explodes at that) to have a proper lunch, and so they can talk. Mira and Zoey share a glance (which Rumi catches with a smile and raises eyebrow) and they agree to go.

The lunch is shockingly relaxed, with Rumi, Poppy, and Miyeong acting so very… human with how they love one another. Poppy shares embarrassing story’s about how Rumi was while going through puberty, and Miyeong pulls out some baby photos she was able to steal from Celine back before she knew what was happening to Rumi.

The lunch eventually ends, but Mira, Zoey, and Rumi all keep chatting as Miyeong and Poppy step outside.

They talk, for a while, about the new hunters. About how they’re already so close, even after everything that’s happened. Miyeong is pleasantly surprised when Rumi blushes a little when Zoey hugs her, and resigns herself to tease her daughter about it later.

Eventually, Rumi walks with them back to the edge of the compound. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees Celine at the gates, pacing. Celine turns, beginning a greeting before choking off when she sees who’s with Mira and Zoey.

The two watch each other warily. Rumi, because she’s unsure what to expect because even after seven years, she still remembers the scars left on her back. Celine, because she’s terrified of what Rumi might want, either to do to her or say to her.

It slowly dawns on the younger woman that Celine has changed. The way she trained Mira and Zoey, though strict, sounded almost gentle. They’d also told her how Celine had only just admitted what she did to Rumi as a child, and how she’d called herself a monster.

She isn’t sure how she feels about Celine. She used to love her, then she feared her. In the years since her rescue, she’s slowly come to see Celine as an idea, a person to always run from, a larger than life threat.

But the woman in front of Rumi doesn’t look very threatening. She looks very small, and very, very scared.

Rumi doesn’t like that look. Because it’s a look of someone who expects to be hurt, and thinks they deserve it. It’s the look Rumi had, back in that last year before her Eomma got her. It’s not a look she ever thought she’d see on Celine’s face.

Rumi feels something strange curl in her, a new emotion she can’t quite identify. So, she decides to do what she always does when she’s confused.

Rumi acts.

With a single step forwards.

Celine stumbles back for a moment, breathing becoming very rapid. Behind Rumi, she can hear them shift, but a glance back with a wink is hopefully enough for them to know she isn’t going to hurt Celine. Turning back to look at Celine, Rumi takes another step.

Celine doesn’t move this time, instead her jaw tightens as she looks at Rumi. But she is trembling now, her fists clenched. Not to fight, but in a desperate bid to avoid reaching for Rumi.

How Rumi can tell, she isn’t sure, but she knows in that moment that Celine isn’t a threat to her.

Step.

Late nights, a nightmare where Celine had held her until she fell back asleep.

Step.

A cold fire across her back as she clawed at the ground, growling at Celine.

Step.

A birthday cake, made out of carrots just like she’d asked, and a backup cake for when Rumi didn’t like it.

Step.

A hug, the last one she’d given Rumi before everything happened.

Step.

She’s in front of Celine now. Celine has squeezed her eye shut, jaw clenched, her body as stiff as a tree. The trembling is worse, but she still hasn’t moved. A glance back confirms that Mira and Zoey are still in the same spot, watching with wide eyes.

That funny feeling wriggles in Rumi’s chest again that they trusted her enough already not to try and stop her.

Rumi faces Celine, expression neutral. Celine’s eyes is still squeezed shut.

“Celine.”

Just her name, that’s all Rumi says. But Celine flinch’s as if she’s been struck, head turning for a moment before her eye opens, meeting Rumi’s gaze.

“Do you know what my favorite bird is?”

Celine looks confused as well as frightened now, but she slowly shakes her head.

“It’s Puffins. Do you want to know why?”

Celine hesitated before responding, eye darting to Mira and Zoey then back to Rumi.

“…I would, yes.”

Rumi smiled faintly, not missing the way Celine’s eye darts to the slightly sharper canines then back up.

“A Puffin can travel hundreds of miles across the ocean, searching or being led, but can still find its way back to the exact same burrow it lived in before its journey.”

Rumi stepped forwards, within arms reach of the confused and somewhat frightened older woman.

“Is this still my home, Celine?”

Celine’s lip wobbles, confusion overtaking the fear.

“If… if you wanted it to be. But- but why? Why would you ever want to come back here? I- I was horrible!”

Celine looked down at her hands, not noticing the forms now standing behind her.

“I hurt you, every day, for something you couldn’t control! I was a drunken, abusive, angry woman and I took everything out on you!”

Tears were falling now, how and fast as she looked back up at Rumi. She flinched at the look of calm, of understanding, in those eyes.

“So why… why would you ever want to be back here with me?”

A voice came from behind Celine, making her freeze. A voice she’d heard only last night, yet still felt so new and foreign that she scarcely believed it to be real.

“Because, as Rumi pointed out last night; home is with the people you care for. And she still cared for you, even after everything.”

Celine clenched her fists again, but turned to look at Poppy and Miyeong, standing behind her. Their expressions were closed off, and Miyeong still looked angry, but there was resignation there as well. Poppy speaks up, then.

“If you’d have us, the three of us want to come live here for a time. Rumi wishes to train with her hunters, and we… we wish to speak with you.”

Celine’s in shock, but can only give her stammering affirmation that they will always be welcomed back here. The six of them make their way inside, with Rumi, Mira, and Zoey pulling ahead to help find Rumi’s room so she can get her stuff into there.

Miyeong and Poppy slow to a stop at the house entrance, with Celine hesitating before turning to face them. They say in no uncertain terms that they are here because Rumi wanted them to be, not because they wanted to. Celine doesn’t say anything to that, she expected nothing less.

A blade is suddenly at her throat, but Celine doesn’t react to that either. She figured this would happen soon, too.

Miyeong says that if she touches Rumi, or even thinks of hurting her, then she won’t hesitate to take her head. Celine says she’d ask nothing more of her. Miyeong nods, and dismisses her weapon.

(Being inhuman, it does stranger things to the mind. Miyeong is angry at Celine, don’t get her wrong, but she also still loves her. It’s an odd contradiction, yet still so true. She isn’t sure she can forgive Celine, but she’s willing to try for Rumi.

As for Rumi? She’s still a little afraid of Celine. But she realized at the gate what she thought she saw that night; Celine is just as scared as she is for very different reasons.)

The dinner that night is… tense. Mira, Zoey, and Rumi do most of the talking, with Poppy chiming in occasionally. Miyeong mostly ignores Celine, and Celine doesn’t meet her eyes.

They go to bed quickly, the three older hunters, but the new generation stays up late to talk about Celine. Rumi tells them that she ain’t sure she can forgive Celine for what she did to her a kid, but she doesn’t hate her, either.

Mira says that Celine would deserve it, after everything she did, and Zoey agrees. But Rumi shakes her head. She remembers, far more clearly than a human could, how Celine was back then. How, on the anniversary of her mother’s death Celine would drink until she blacked out. How she started drinking more heavily when she started “training” Rumi.

Celine was a broken woman back then, and she was cutting anyone who was nearby with her broken heart. (Literally, in Rumi’s case.) she says that compared to back then, this woman is the Celine she remembers from her childhood, from before her demonic nature truly revealed itself.

Rumi agrees that Celine was cruel, and perhaps evil, back then. But people don’t remain static, they are ever changing, and that means that they are different people from who they were before.

Mira gives Rumi a measured look, asking her why and how she’s being shockingly forgiving about living with her abuser, apparently at her own request.

Rumi admits she went to therapy via an online service, and that her therapist recommended trying to talk to Celine about back then. (She had to lie a bit and say Celine was her parent, which she technically was.) she had advised Rumi to meet her in a controlled setting, and what better way then to have her mom and Eommma to back her up along with her the two woman who are her literal soulmates.

At the twin confused look she receives, Rumi asks if Celine had never told them that part. At the looks of chagrin she received, Rumi assumes the answer is no.

They turn in a little after that, Mira and Zoey inviting Rumi for a sleepover. Rumi declines, saying she wants to spend the first night in her room to “feel the vibes”.

Rumi doesn’t sleep much, that night. She spends the time instead looking over the room, which has shockingly stayed nearly the same since back then. She even finds a small stuffed bear, missing one of its button eyes, laying on her bed. Rumi had called it “mini Celine” when she was a kid.

A small, sad smile forms on Rumi’s face as she squeezes the bear gently. What could have been, she muses, if Celine could’ve controlled her fear better.

Laying in her childhood bed, Rumi considers what she wants from Celine.

An apology maybe?

No.

She doesn’t care about empty apologies. The last few days have been a blur, but in the quiet of the night Rumi finally has a chance to consider everything.

When she was a child, Celine was safe for much of her childhood. Then she’d hit Rumi when she hissed at her, and things had just spiraled from there.

So why did she come back?

Rumi blinks at the bear, the answer incredibly simple yet impossibly complicated. She came back because of her Eomma and mom. She came back when she saw the way they used to look at those old photos on the walls in their little cottage. How they’d sometimes be sleeping, and mutter a name that used to scare Rumi, then slowly became a source of confusion.

How does one feel about a woman who you know can be kind, that slowly became cruel?

Rumi doesn’t know. All she knows is that despite everything, despite all these years, Celine is still loved by her parents.

Rumi spends the first week simply watching Celine, getting to know how much she’s changed since back then. The Celine she knew was bolder, sharper, sure of herself in all the ways that someone who is hurting can be.

But this older Celine is quiet, withdrawn, and hesitant. During training she offers advice rather then corrections, guiding rather than forcing. It’s a stark contrast, and one that Rumi takes note of.

She was right when she’d told Mira and Zoey that people change. Sometimes they change for the worse, but Celine very well might have changed for the better.

So, Rumi starts talking to her. At first Celine is shocked, and isn’t sure how to respond to the sudden way Rumi’s begun to converse with her. Mira and Zoey ended up needing to head out to do a round of interviews and shows right around then, giving Rumi plenty of time to pry at Celine’s quiet misery.

Celine slowly starts talking with Rumi, seeming scared to say something that might upset her. Rumi pretends not to notice, instead just having calm conversations about anything that comes to mind.

Miyeong notices. Poppy does too.

The two of them watch with interest as Rumi slowly reaches out to Celine, and they watch with mild anxiety and amazement as Celine hesitantly reaches back. Miyeong especially is surprised, she hadn’t expected Celine to want to talk to Rumi, but the way Celine is looking at her…

If it weren’t for what Celine had done, Miyeong might have called it love.

Weeks drift into months, as Celine becomes more used to conversing with Rumi. She apologizes a lot, for a lot of things. Rumi never says she forgives her, simply saying she knows that Celine is sorry.

Miyeong starts talking to her again, and Poppy does as well. It’s hesitant, but still, they’re trying.

As the six month mark is reached since the day Rumi showed up at the compound, Rumi goes to visit Mira and Zoey in the city, leaving the three woman alone for the first time since then.

Celine is hesitant, unsure how to act without the buffer of Rumi there. The dinner that night is a silent affair, the tension in the air palpable, but no one breaks it. Once it’s finished, they all retreat to their respective rooms.

A half hour or so later, Celine gets a knock on her door. Shes terrified, but she answers it anyways.

It’s Miyeong and Poppy.

Celine isn’t surprised, though she is terrified. They ask to be let in, and Celine would never deny a request from her the girls.

The door shuts with a quiet click, but when Celine turns around the other two are directly in front of her. She stiffens, single eye widening in surprise.

Miyeong watches her carefully, as does Poppy. The two don’t say anything for a time, simply observing the way Celine’s breath hitches and her eye darts between them.

Finally, Miyeong leans into Celine’s space, nearly touching forehead’s.

She asks Celine why she did it, all this years ago. Why did she hurt Rumi like that. Celine can’t meet her gaze, and try’s to turn her head to the side. A hand grips her chin, forcing her to meet Miyeongs eyes again as the question is asked again.

Celine swallows, throat dry, as she stammers out the truth.

Losing Miyeong, losing Poppy, and being left with a child she thought was becoming a demon… it broke something in her. Something that she tried to dull with drink that only sharpened the edges.

Tears are falling from Celine’s face again as she says she’s a monster for what she did. She doesn’t know why Rumi acts like she’s not, why Rumi pretends everything is ok between the two of them.

Poppy flicks Celine’s forehead, cutting her off.

At the incredulous look (which she can only partially do since her chin is still being gripped by Miyeong) Poppy says Rumi doesn’t hold grudges. She explains that Rumi talked to them, last week, and said that she doesn’t forgive Celine for the past, but she is willing to try and make a new future with Celine in it.

Celine can’t help herself, she asks why.

Poppy smiles sadly, and says it’s because Rumi knows the secret that Miyeong and herself have been keeping for years. At Celine’s questioning look, Poppy leans in, cupping Celine’s face.

“That we still love you, Celine.”

Celine feels her jaw drop. Or at least, it tries to, but it simply settles more fully into Miyeongs hand. Her eye darts to Miyeong, who nods. She says she doesn’t forgive Celine either, but that she does understand that kind of grief, of losing a loved one.

Celine winces, remembering her part in the death of Rumi’s father, but doesn’t interrupt as Miyeong continues, her silver eyes flashing. She tells Celine that she’s had well over a decade now to come to terms with how she feels about Celine, and she’s made her choice of what she will do with her.

Poppy chimes in again, saying that she’s in agreement. Celine can feel herself trembling in fear, dread boiling in her stomach at whatever they’ll decide to do with her.

She isn’t sure she can survive if they leave again.

She is surprised to find Miyeong gently kissing her.

It appears a monster can still find love in its heart for another monster. Something Celine never would have thought possible, yet here she is, being kissed by the two woman she still loves more then anything else in the world.

Well, almost anything.

Rumi, laying in bed between the two woman she loves, really hopes her moms followed her plan. They’d admitted to Rumi they still loved Celine last week, but felt guilty about it because of how she treated Rumi.

All she could hope was that Celine won’t reject them because she thinks she isn’t good enough for them.

Idly, Rumi looks at her own patterns, a sign of her father’s sins. Being a monster must run in the family, or so Rumi supposed.

But at least she gets to be a loved monster, and that’s more than she ever thought she’d have.

The very same thought crossed Celine’s mind as she lays in her bed, between the two women she loves.

—

Ok, so uh. This got WAY away from me. If there’s any inconsistency or weird prose changes just know I wrote this over the course of a week and I cannot for the life of me remember how I originally wanted it to end. Basically, Polylight and Polytrix for the win.

But she doesn’t care. She keeps pulling at the tab that should’ve been able to open the collar. She knows she’s supposed to use a key for it, and she tried to pick the lock, but had had no success.

Eventually, she passes out from the pain, but she wakes up an hour or so later. The sun isn’t risen yet, so Rumi tries again.

And again.

And… again.

The sun rises, and Celine comes into the room to get Rumi for training. She opens the door, expecting something to come flying at her like usual.

Instead she’s greeted by the smell of Ozone, burned meat, and singed hair.

Rumi is laying on the floor by her bed, limp, eyes half lidded. Celine shouts for Mira and Zoey, dropping to her knees next to the barely conscious girl. She tries to get answers from Rumi about what happened, but she can’t make anything out. She must’ve bitten her tongue.

Mira and Zoey show up with a med kit, but they both freeze in horror when they see the state Rumi is in. The shock lasts only a moment before Mira comes into, gritting her teeth as she pulls out burn ointment.

Zoey has to run to the bathroom to throw up first before coming to help.

Celine ends up taking off the collar, and even she has to look away from Rumi’s neck. The constant electric shocks have burned into the side of her neck, leaving a burned section of the skin where the prongs sat.

They apply the ointment, having to work together to keep Rumi’s hands by her side as she keeps trying to reach up to her neck.

Once it’s applied, Celine says that training will be canceled for the day, lifting and placing Rumi onto her bed.

The two hunters spend the day taking care of Rumi while Celine adjusts the collars settings. She doesn’t want Rumi getting hurt like that again.

Rumi wakes up about three hours later, right around the time Celine finishes with the collar adjustments, something she’ll discover soon. She sees Mira and Zoey sitting at the edge of her bed, watching her anxiously.

Rumi responds by scrambling backwards away from them, as far as she can manage on the large bed. Mira and Zoey try to calm her down, and it’s actually slowly working as Rumi realizes the collar is gone.

Then it stops working when Celine brings it back in.

Mira and Zoey object strenuously, pointing out how dangerous it is, but Celine says she’s changed it so she can manage to burn herself with it again, and that it’ll be safe. Zoey tries to objects again, pointing out just how terrified Rumi is, but she’s silenced when Celine reminds hee of the school.

They hold Rumi down again, crying as she does, and gripping tightly to her hands as she thrashes.

Celine clips on the collar.

Rumi scrambles to try and take it off again when they let go, but she can’t find the latch. Rumi’s eyes widened in horror as she looks at Celine, whose lower lip trembles slightly before she grits her jaw.

She tells Rumi the only way to take that off now is for her to take it off for her. No more self shocks.

Rumi cries after they leave for a very long time.

—