The City With No Animals ~ Chapter 4 ~ The Moon
{ Chapter One}
{ Chapter Two}
{ Chapter Three}
As the day fades and the first moon rises, Miette grows more and more restless. Yurome and I try to soothe her but we know it's futile. She tosses her head and makes low sounds, pacing back and forth the room. Something about her seems more vulnerable than I felt experiencing the same thing. Is it my imagination or do her eyes seem brighter, more violet than dark? Her skin luminescent? She keeps glancing out the window, as if struggling to decide between being caged or running free.
"What's out there?" I ask Yurome, angrily.
"Something that will hurt her if it finds her," she replies. "There are others who have gone missing. We seem them the nights when the wild comes, sometimes many nights. Then they're gone. I was with one. We always went together, follwing the pull. I lost sight of her and heard her scream one. There was blood on the ground. I searched all night, following strange smells, hers and others. I haven't seen her since. Her things were gone, no one had seen her. But people move or go on trips all the time on a fancy, so no one cared. Miette and I were the only ones that knew about her night time adventures, but before she was gone, we didn't know there was anything to be worried about."
I want to ask if they were lovers, but it seems impolite somehow. Miette shudders and presses her face to the window glass. Yurome and I glance at each other. We can't keep her much longer.
"Stay as close to her as possible, " Yurome instructs, tense and sharp with worry. I nod and touch her arm lightly. She smiles and I notice her eyes are a russet colour, warm and earthy.
As the second moon rises, gentle and rosy, I borrow sensible shoes and pull my hair up. I make soft, calming sounds to our restless little beast and hope that whatever holds danger isn't out hunting tonight. Yurome watches the moons frowning for a long time before she finally nods. We're free.
As soon as we're out the door, it's as if invisible chains fall from her. She's gone before I can blink. I stand stupidly on the street, unsure until Yurome taps her nose lightly.
"We'll have to catch up soon, but she won't go far. She knows it's not safe, even if she's feeling moonstruck."
Yurome starts walking and I follow, a seriousness surrounding me. My life is one of whimsy, pleasure, and delight. Tonight, I feel the keen edge of something else, the faint scent of danger made real in the night air. In less than a day, the world seems a much different place.
"Moonstruck. That's a good word for it," is all I can say in reply.
We follow her through empty streets and crowds, sometimes relying on Yurome's ability to track her, sometimes finding her waiting for us, trembling and anxious. She doesn't speak, but continues on once we get close.
We roam through the First Quarter, past the shops and gardens and airy bridges, following the canals across the city into the Third. She weaves between the brightly coloured buildings, muted by the night. Music and people spill from open doors, places promising warmth and revelry. There's power as she moves through the people. I think of the string of unknown numbers calling my phone the night before and wonder if I looked that lovely and strange. People are drawn to her, flirting and reaching out to stroke her arm, her hair. She whirls away to dance near the musicians, and I feel something protective rise up in me. I follow and as the music slows, pull her to me. She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder. She smells like violets.
"Why is it just you tonight? Why don't Yurome and I feel it?" I ask. Her fingers toy with the jewel hanging around my neck.
"Have you ever noticed that the moon never changes?" she replies, voice rising and falling musically. "The second one. Have you noticed?"
The rose moon. Always full, always softly glowing.
"Not really," I reply, searching the crowd for Yurome. Maybe she understands Miette's disjoined comments.
"Mylene," she says sharply, tensing. I look down at her and she holds me with her gaze.
"Something is calling for me. Maybe that's why it's just me. I'm getting closer to it... It rises up and then it's gone and I have to wait until it pulls again. I have to find it."
"You are very strange," I say affectionately. "Even by today's standards, which I have to admit are much different than yesterday's."
She smiles, her eyes lighting up and her cheeks colouring. I smell violets again and I admit to myself that desire has brought me here, even more than the strange dreams, children's stories of animals, or a looming sense of danger in the night.
Something cold ripples across my skin and Miette freezes, eyes violet and wide. The warmth behind me and familiar scent tells me Yurome has moved close, but I don't dare turn toward her. Across the room, a woman is scanning the crowd, sniffing the air delicately and licking her lips. Yurome's arms encircle my waist and she whispers in my ear.
"I was at the door when she entered. She smelled like blood."
Does she feel the wild too, I wonder, watching her slide through the crowd. She zeroes in on Miette, a shining creature in the throng. I watch her smile slowly and know that this is the face of the ambiguous danger we've been feeling. A quick squeeze of Yurome's hand on my hip and I nod. Grabbing Miette's hand, I begin to run.
Crashes and glass breaking behind us, we shove through the crowd away. I feel a moment of panic, wondering if Yurome is behind us or if she's stayed to hold her off. Miette outpaces me and suddenly it's her leading me out the door, into the streets, and away. We weave through buildings and my head spins, my chest burning. The street is painfully silent behind us. We cross a foot bridge over a canal into the public gardens and I stop, tugging hard on Miette's hand.
"No! Miette, we can't," I say, gasping for air. She looks back at me and away.
"It's the only place we can go and be safe," she replies gently, eyes shining. She adjusts my hand in hers and pulls me towards the crumbling gates.
"There's nothing safe about here," I whisper, looking around for Yurome, feeling sick. "We shouldn't have left her."
Miette kisses my cheek and presses her face to my neck.
"Trust in her. Yurome will be safe. Come with me now."
She tugs again and I follow, confused and stomach heaving. Her skin is shining in the moonlight, and everything else seems dark. She caresses the stone, the iron, the leafy plants that grow over the gate. The Fourth Quarter. I shiver and she puts her arms around me, leading me through the wrought iron door. Into the ruins, into the white arms of Death.
{ Chapter Two}
{ Chapter Three}
As the day fades and the first moon rises, Miette grows more and more restless. Yurome and I try to soothe her but we know it's futile. She tosses her head and makes low sounds, pacing back and forth the room. Something about her seems more vulnerable than I felt experiencing the same thing. Is it my imagination or do her eyes seem brighter, more violet than dark? Her skin luminescent? She keeps glancing out the window, as if struggling to decide between being caged or running free.
"What's out there?" I ask Yurome, angrily.
"Something that will hurt her if it finds her," she replies. "There are others who have gone missing. We seem them the nights when the wild comes, sometimes many nights. Then they're gone. I was with one. We always went together, follwing the pull. I lost sight of her and heard her scream one. There was blood on the ground. I searched all night, following strange smells, hers and others. I haven't seen her since. Her things were gone, no one had seen her. But people move or go on trips all the time on a fancy, so no one cared. Miette and I were the only ones that knew about her night time adventures, but before she was gone, we didn't know there was anything to be worried about."
I want to ask if they were lovers, but it seems impolite somehow. Miette shudders and presses her face to the window glass. Yurome and I glance at each other. We can't keep her much longer.
"Stay as close to her as possible, " Yurome instructs, tense and sharp with worry. I nod and touch her arm lightly. She smiles and I notice her eyes are a russet colour, warm and earthy.
As the second moon rises, gentle and rosy, I borrow sensible shoes and pull my hair up. I make soft, calming sounds to our restless little beast and hope that whatever holds danger isn't out hunting tonight. Yurome watches the moons frowning for a long time before she finally nods. We're free.
As soon as we're out the door, it's as if invisible chains fall from her. She's gone before I can blink. I stand stupidly on the street, unsure until Yurome taps her nose lightly.
"We'll have to catch up soon, but she won't go far. She knows it's not safe, even if she's feeling moonstruck."
Yurome starts walking and I follow, a seriousness surrounding me. My life is one of whimsy, pleasure, and delight. Tonight, I feel the keen edge of something else, the faint scent of danger made real in the night air. In less than a day, the world seems a much different place.
"Moonstruck. That's a good word for it," is all I can say in reply.
We follow her through empty streets and crowds, sometimes relying on Yurome's ability to track her, sometimes finding her waiting for us, trembling and anxious. She doesn't speak, but continues on once we get close.
We roam through the First Quarter, past the shops and gardens and airy bridges, following the canals across the city into the Third. She weaves between the brightly coloured buildings, muted by the night. Music and people spill from open doors, places promising warmth and revelry. There's power as she moves through the people. I think of the string of unknown numbers calling my phone the night before and wonder if I looked that lovely and strange. People are drawn to her, flirting and reaching out to stroke her arm, her hair. She whirls away to dance near the musicians, and I feel something protective rise up in me. I follow and as the music slows, pull her to me. She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder. She smells like violets.
"Why is it just you tonight? Why don't Yurome and I feel it?" I ask. Her fingers toy with the jewel hanging around my neck.
"Have you ever noticed that the moon never changes?" she replies, voice rising and falling musically. "The second one. Have you noticed?"
The rose moon. Always full, always softly glowing.
"Not really," I reply, searching the crowd for Yurome. Maybe she understands Miette's disjoined comments.
"Mylene," she says sharply, tensing. I look down at her and she holds me with her gaze.
"Something is calling for me. Maybe that's why it's just me. I'm getting closer to it... It rises up and then it's gone and I have to wait until it pulls again. I have to find it."
"You are very strange," I say affectionately. "Even by today's standards, which I have to admit are much different than yesterday's."
She smiles, her eyes lighting up and her cheeks colouring. I smell violets again and I admit to myself that desire has brought me here, even more than the strange dreams, children's stories of animals, or a looming sense of danger in the night.
Something cold ripples across my skin and Miette freezes, eyes violet and wide. The warmth behind me and familiar scent tells me Yurome has moved close, but I don't dare turn toward her. Across the room, a woman is scanning the crowd, sniffing the air delicately and licking her lips. Yurome's arms encircle my waist and she whispers in my ear.
"I was at the door when she entered. She smelled like blood."
Does she feel the wild too, I wonder, watching her slide through the crowd. She zeroes in on Miette, a shining creature in the throng. I watch her smile slowly and know that this is the face of the ambiguous danger we've been feeling. A quick squeeze of Yurome's hand on my hip and I nod. Grabbing Miette's hand, I begin to run.
Crashes and glass breaking behind us, we shove through the crowd away. I feel a moment of panic, wondering if Yurome is behind us or if she's stayed to hold her off. Miette outpaces me and suddenly it's her leading me out the door, into the streets, and away. We weave through buildings and my head spins, my chest burning. The street is painfully silent behind us. We cross a foot bridge over a canal into the public gardens and I stop, tugging hard on Miette's hand.
"No! Miette, we can't," I say, gasping for air. She looks back at me and away.
"It's the only place we can go and be safe," she replies gently, eyes shining. She adjusts my hand in hers and pulls me towards the crumbling gates.
"There's nothing safe about here," I whisper, looking around for Yurome, feeling sick. "We shouldn't have left her."
Miette kisses my cheek and presses her face to my neck.
"Trust in her. Yurome will be safe. Come with me now."
She tugs again and I follow, confused and stomach heaving. Her skin is shining in the moonlight, and everything else seems dark. She caresses the stone, the iron, the leafy plants that grow over the gate. The Fourth Quarter. I shiver and she puts her arms around me, leading me through the wrought iron door. Into the ruins, into the white arms of Death.