Fantasy ☾ eclipse of the heart.| (syntra + starboob = synboob.)

[starboob]

The pieces start to come together, but not nearly as quick as Sol would hope. Her mind seems to be wrestling with itself on whether or not it's going to release all these locked memories. Part of Sol wants to know. She knows that she deserves to know. Yet part of her doesn't want this. That part of her is also glad she doesn't have full recollection of this tragedy. Of course, even this 10 percent recall doesn't stop her chest from cracking open as easily as an egg on the countertop. She's scared to know how much worse it will feel once she remembers. And she has a feeling she is about to find out very soon just how awful this will feel, because the more they both talk, the sharper the images become in her mind. Maybe that's why she grips Selene tighter. Maybe she hopes that holding onto Selene will lessen the blow. (Dammit! Now more than ever she wishes she could have Selene back. She wants Selene as her friend. Something changed when they disappeared from earth and changed the Selene that she knew and loved and she wants to undo all of that, because she misses her friend! The friend she knows that Selene used to be and probably is still capable of being. She doesn't want to go back to the Sun court alone with the knowledge that she was involved in part of her gang's murder.) "We didn't kill you! I'm sorry you're angry––I get it, but," she sniffles and then stops herself from saying anything else. Selene told her earlier not grovel and while she thinks she was wrong to suggest that, now she doesn't think that groveling is going to work. It didn't work with the Zombie Thing and it's not working with their former friends turned fiery chimera.

Sol huddles closer to Selene as the fires start to encroach on their tiny unburnt island. Her heart rate hikes up into the stratosphere as the heat begins to sear her skin. Sweat drenches her brow and she can feel it trickling down her back. The edges of the flame are even starting to singe her clothes and she step backwards a bit to give the moon daughter a bit more room in the last bit of safe territory. She shuts her eyes tightly, gripping onto her counterpart for dear life. "I don't know! I don't know! I don't know!" Sol half shrieks, half sobs as their former friends continue to throw accusations at them. Her chest heaves and she's pretty sure her lungs are about to pop like a balloon if she continues to hyperventilate like this.

"You have to know," Phoebe says, not giving Sol or Selene an inch of grace.

"Yeah, you two are the ones who survived," says Rachel.

"We just want to know what happened! The truth!" Monica howls, "You owe us that much!"

Yeah, as if Sol isn't already scrapping her brain for any piece of information that might sate the beast in front of them! But nothing, nothing, and more nothing is all that comes to mind! She lets go of Selene and steps closer towards the chimera and the edge of the flames. "You want to know what I remember?" she screams, an unholy cocktail of emotions swirling through her––ranging from frustration to grief to confusion. "I remember being with Helia! I remember being five and Helia, my real mom, taking me to mountains to show me the peak of our queendom! That's what I remember about being a kid. I don't remember you all. I don't remember Selene," not in any meaningful way, at least. "Selene has tried to kill me twice since we apparently reunited. You think that we were so close and buddy-buddy on earth, but I don't remember it. Selene doesn't remember it. So when we tell you we don't know, we mean it!"

"Oh, come on, Sol!" Phoebe shouts, the flames growing to an impossible height. The house is almost completely burnt and Sol isn't even sure why the chimera version of their friends hasn't already eaten them alive. (Maybe they still care? Sol kind of doubts that.) "I know you're a big fat liar, but don't try that bull on us. Selene? Trying to kill you? We didn't ask for a joke we asked for the truth."

"But––" Sol starts.

"Fireball them, Rach," Monica orders and Rachel nods, creating a fireball the size of a miniature sun.

'Crap. If you die in a twisted memory do you die in real life?' Something tells Sol, yes. The sunbeam grabs the moon daughter's hand and places her behind her. She shuts her eyes tightly trying to pull something up from the dark recesses of her mind and, at the last second, memories start to flood vision. "Wait! The town burned after we disappeared. We never summoned my mom that night, but what we did sent a signal to the celestial realm that led to our moms finding us and taking us back. S-Selene and I were already messed up from losing you all. We didn't want to lose each other, too," admittedly, it felt worse to conceptualize losing Selene than the trio. Somehow she doesn't think mentioning that will help their case. "We made something to preserve our..." Their what? That she doesn't remember. Either their memories or their friendship? That would make sense, but she doesn't want to guess. "I don't know. Whatever it was it was going to defy our moms' will," aka the will of the goddesses, "It's all scrambled, but I remember not wanting to leave. I remember my mom telling me I had to. I didn't have a choice. I tried to resist. She set fire to the school. I agreed to go under the condition everyone else be protected." When she left, she remembers telling her earth moms to not be sad because she was going to be the Sun someday and that she will make everyone smile. "I don't think Helia burned the rest of the town after that. I don't know who or what did. Selene, do you know?"

 

[Syntra]

The memory shards were like pieces of puzzle, floating around in impenetrable darkness. Once, Selene had thought that there wasn’t a place that moonlight couldn’t reach, but now? Now evidence was being shoved in her face, so vehemently that it could not be denied! (The real question, however, was whether she wanted to solve this puzzle. Well, did she? Did she? Challenges didn’t scare her, of course that they didn’t, but… well, maybe this wasn’t a challenge, per se. Maybe this was a thorn under her skin, stuck in there for so long that she had forgotten about it-- years’ worth of pain in one convenient package, just waiting for its seal to be broken. Wouldn’t it be wiser, then, to leave it alone? To stay in her protective bubble? It wasn’t about action versus inaction as much as it was about deciding whether you wanted to stick your hand in a snake’s nest or not, dammit! Her very safety was at stake here, thank you very much. Nobody could possibly condemn her for that, for a dead princess was useless-- just cold, dead meat, incapable of change. A burden more than anything else, really. ...some part of her, though? Some part of her knew that it was her responsibility, whether she liked it or not. What had happened in that twisted dream had been real, in some capacity, at least, and what kind of ruler would she be if she closed her eyes before it? Not a very good one, Selene was sure!) “We aren’t lying,” she defended herself, feebly. (Why did her voice sound so weak to her own ears? Mere whisper, not the thunder it should have been, and that made her feel small, like an ant or a grain of sand. For comfort, Selene clutched Sol’s hand tighter.)

“Believe us or not, we are being honest.” Yes, for once. Lies were the moon princess’s best friends, if you considered her to have any, but friends, as everyone knew, were supposed to be used-- used and discarded, like dirty napkins. “I don’t know whatever fanfiction it is that you invented for your own amusement, but it isn’t true. We are not friends. I would rather be friends with a slug if given the choice! Why do you think I’d wish to bind myself to Helia’s daughter, out of all people?” What a nonsense, nonsense, nonsense! The moon and the sun were enemies, forever standing in bitter opposition, and it had to remain that way, just like rivers always had to flow in one direction. That was their entire point! (And yet, when Selene forgot who she was, it wasn’t that hard to imagine-- her and Sol being something else, that was. Them watching some silly movie together, and laughing at the cringe; them dancing as fireflies swirled around; them competing over who could jump higher. The fantasies were silly, of course, but in a way, they didn’t feel like fantasies? Selene could swear it had happened already, in some softer, more sanitized universe where kindness wasn’t poison. It didn’t happen, she reminded herself, in a tone that allowed for no concessions. Didn’t, didn’t, didn’t.)

“Geez, Selene, I didn’t know you were such a liar, liar, pants on fire,” Phoebe scoffed. “Can you, like, at least try harder? If you had fed us something less low effort, maybe we would have swallowed it, hook, line and sinker.” The thing was, Selene knew that the girls wouldn’t have accepted it, regardless of what was being said. This wasn’t about justice, you see? Retribution may have been its distant cousin, yes, but certainly not its twin! They wanted an outlet for their anger, quiet and submissive and regretful. ‘Why, yes, of course that it’s my fault that dinosaurs went extinct!’ the ideal Selene would have said. ‘Do you now want to hear how I single handedly caused WWII to happen, after I triggered the bubonic plague?’ Nodding and smiling might have been the solution, then, though that had never been Selene’s style. The tears might have stung, indeed, but that didn’t mean she was going to fold under the pressure! “You heard her,” the moon princess gestured towards Sol. “I don’t know what happened to the town and you interrogating us over and over will not change that, I regret to say. Gods aren’t all-knowing, you see? But,” a realization hit her, and it hit her like a truck, “you are right in that it probably wasn’t a coincidence. Are you sure that you didn’t do it?”

“What?” Rachel gasped, clearly scandalized.

“I mean, you were the ones who died in a fire,” Selene pointed out. “I'm not trying to play the blame game here, but ghosts do have this… this tendency to get stuck in the past, for lack of a better word. So, theoretically, you might have been responsible! Are you sure you didn't want the townsfolk to taste a little bit of your suffering, as a treat? Just so that you didn't have to feel so damn lonely?"

The girls exchanged glances, and in that moment, they looked remarkably like kids who had been caught passing notes in the class. (That was what they might have been, had destiny been just a little bit kinder. The question was, why did that hurt so much? They were just earthly worms, indistinguishable from the millions that had come before them, and yet, yet--) "Ummm... maybe?" Rachel piped up. "That doesn't mean anything, though. Wishes don't set people on fire! ...or do they?"

 

[starboob]

Tbh, Sol can acknowledge that they do not look like rivals, let alone enemies, in their current state seeing as they are clinging to each other as if their lives depend on it. So she gets why their former friends believe that they are rotten liars. They look like liars and even if Sol wishes that they were lying about not being friends anymore, it's the stone cold truth. (Did Selene really need to add that she would prefer to be friends with a slug? Like, Sol gets that they are cute and squishy and some of them will numb your tongue if you lick them––looking at you, banana slugs––but Selene didn't need to frigging say it! Geez, she really always has been a meaniepoopypants. It just bites because she remembers when she had been the expectation to Selene's meanness.) None of that causes her to pull away from Selene, however. She sort of can't, because the fire is claiming more territory for itself, as fire does, and even if Selene hates her guts, she's all she has in this moment. So she will cling away and not be ashamed that she's settled for someone who doesn't deserve her cling.

She shuts her eyes tightly, enough that she's pretty sure she's going to tear her eyelids, and braces for the fireball that will surely obliterate them through their next seven lives. (Goddesses, what will her mom's parting remarks even be? 'Here lies Sol, the biggest disappointment to the Sun's great lineage. A blight in the line. Thank the Sun she never ascended?' Honestly, sad as it is, she really could see that being the gist of her eulogy. Helia will probably be relieved more than grieved. That's okay though. She's never been much of a presence in Sol's life so she can't feel too hurt by her mom's lack of care for her own daughter. Sol is her own mom and she's proud of herself and what she's been able to accomplish in her short life.) "Hey, Selene, I'm sorry it had t––"

Well, as it would turn out, perhaps this isn't their end? That's kind of nice, she supposes. When Selene brings up that it may have been their friends and their unrested spirits that caused their hometown to burn, the flames start to back away from the two goddesses and Sol takes the opportunity to uncling from Selene. (She wants to remain close to her, don't get it twisted, but she also doesn't want to be clutching someone who would rather kiss a slug than her. ... wait a minute.) "Y-yeah," Sol starts, nodding in agreement, "I mean, I don't know a lot about spirits and stuff, but revenants are usually angry and have powers to come back to take their vengeance. It's our fault you became this way and so I can see why you'd think it's also our fault that everyone else burned even if you all were actually the ones who did it."

"Sol, you really don't know when to shut up," Phoebe snaps, "because you've just admitted that even if we did the deed, which I'm still not sure about, that it's still your stinkin' faults! At the end of the day, all fingers still point to you goddesses. And you know what? I wish you had never come to earth. I wish we had never met you! I wish I was procrastinating on seven different homework assignments by baking cookies!" (Sol does miss Phoebe's cookies.)

"Look," Sol says, daring to step closer to the chimera. The flames are receding, despite Phoebe insisting on getting her revenge on the goddesses, and Sol has a feeling that they are less harmful than they were before. "We are responsible for starting this. For turning you into this. We should have known something was up when your bodies weren't found. Selene is right that neither of us can undo this––my life magic doesn't allow me to resurrect the dead, and even if it could necromancy comes with a cost," so she's been told, "But we can make this right. If you let us try."

"Oh, yeah?" Monica cuts in before Phoebe can continue her tirade, "How? I-I am kinda tired of being so angry all the time."

"First, you're going to need to free us of these kid bodies. Whatever you're doing to keep us as kids, it's blocking our access to our powers and we'll need those if we're going to help you."

"How can we trust you?"

"Yeah, what if you smite us for keeping you like this?"

"I guess... I guess, you're just going to have to have some faith that we want to help you. Dunno about Selene, but I feel pretty terrible about what happened and I just want to right this. Not for me, but for you all. You deserve some peace after all these years stuck like this. None of you deserved what happened and I believe that together," she gestures towards Selene, "we can send off your spirits. Yours and the rest of the town, too." (Since their friends have turned into some kind of fire spirit-demon, she guesses they'll need to work together to undo this. While Sol doesn't know much about what Selene is capable of, supernaturally speaking, her knowledge of spirits will probably come in handy. Even if Sol isn't that great at fire stuff, this is something she think she can intuit well enough... hopefully. She is mentally crossing her fingers that this won't blow up in her face––literally or figuratively.)

Their friends seem to deliberate among themselves and after a few minutes, they nod, allowing the goddesses to return to their actual adult selves. "If you're playing games, this is going to end so much worse for you," Phoebe, of course, threatens. Sol doesn't let it get to her and only nods, approaching the fiery beast and hugging it in an attempt to calm the flames. Here's to hoping Selene doesn't choose violence.

 

[Syntra]

Ugh. Why did Sol even feel the need to speak at all, again? Humans were weak and stupid and short-sighted, yes, but Selene also had to admit that they had invented one (1) good thing-- it was called duct tape, in case you wanted to know. And, the reason she was thinking of it now? Why, because it would look oh so fashionable when wrapped around Sol’s big, fat mouth! Actually, why not go even further? Is my mind so banal as to settle for the most obvious of targets? The sun heiress deserved to be wrapped in it entirely, you see, like a mummy from some low budget horror movie, and… uh, what were budgets, actually? Selene didn’t know, though she did observe that it evoked feelings about as pleasant as the word ‘diarrhea’ did. Some kind of illness, then? Eh, most likely. “Don’t listen to her,” Selene intervened. “She just… uh, doesn’t remember how words work. When you’re a goddess, you don’t need to communicate in such barbaric ways-- you simply let the wind carry your thoughts, and it will thank you for doing so. Let me tell you, I wouldn’t want to be in your place! Having to move your mouth all the time just seems so depressingly exhausting.” …that, uh, might not have been the best thing to say, though, considering how the trio glared at her.

“Poor little Selene,” Phoebe mocked, “having to use your mouth for its intended purpose seems like hell. We all pity you so! Unlike us, you know the real suffering.”

“I mean, yes?” Selene raised her eyebrow, somewhat surprised that their underdeveloped brains had produced a logic this sound. (Perhaps their species wasn’t completely hopeless, after all? It wasn’t their fault that they had been born this devoid of talent, individuality, or anything that made one’s existence worth it-- goddesses themselves had shaped them that way, for reasons beyond the moon princess’s understanding. Maybe they were simply in need of a pet, she decided. Yes, yes, that made perfect sense! In order for them to worship their creators properly, they needed to be empty vessels, ready to be filled. Now, you didn’t generally need your dog to understand the intricacies of the atomic fusion, did you? No, you only needed it to be there, wagging its tail happily whenever you returned home. That was their purpose, indeed, and honestly, could Selene be blamed for getting a little bit attached? You were meant to like your dog, you monster! See, everything was fine and dandy and totally normal-- no inappropriate feelings for mortal to be seen here, that was for sure.) “It’s not like you humans can ever comprehend the weight that we have to bear, that’s right. It isn’t even your fault! You cannot ask an ant to marvel at the sky, for it is too preoccupied with the matters of dirt. With you, I’d wager that it would be similar,” Selene pointed out, with all the kindness of a sawtooth tiger.

“Jesus Christ,” Monica scoffed, and somehow, the moon princess just knew that she was rolling her eyes. “Alright, now I can see that you really deserve each other. You’re equally matched, both in stupidity and… and in meanie poopy pants-ness!” Which, ??? Selene had only been honest, thank you very much. Besides, was it not a mark of a real goddess, to understand the limitations of a species and adjust her expectations accordingly? To do anything else would have been cruel, even for the cold, emotionless moon! “But fine, fine. At this point, I’m just heckin’ tired of being stuck in this burning hellhole, so why not? We’ll see what kind of tricks you have up your sleeves, our precious goddesses. I hope it’s impressive enough, for your own sake! Because, trust me, you don’t want to see us ang-- oof,” the monster yelped, shocked by Sol’s… uh, hippie tactics? Selene couldn’t see it, but she could feel their auras sort of merging, which could only mean that she was embracing it. (Well, that, or maybe eating it? No, that would have been way too metal for a woman who probably cried whenever she stepped on a bug accidentally.)

“What are you doing?” Rachel cried. “Let go of me, you… you wart on the face of the earth! Do we look like we need an emotional support hug? This isn’t Disney, Sol. You cannot solve everything with a feel-good gesture and a kiss on the forehead!” That they couldn’t, but listing all the ways in which they could not help the mortals didn’t exactly illuminate the path before her. Illuminate, illuminate… ah, yes! The moon, you see, understood lost things better than most other celestial entities-- she herself was lost, both in the inky darkness of the sky and the hearts of her followers. Convenient, wasn’t it? Because this entire fiasco had begun with their bodies being lost, if she wasn’t mistaken! Show me, Selene demanded. You who know where my steps will lead, you who guide me, I ask you to share your wisdom. Where are they?

‘Can’t you see? Can’t you see? Can’t you see?’ the whispers sounded like mocking, low and insistent-- it was felt more than it was heard, really, and for some reason, Selene couldn’t help but gulp nervously. ‘Oh, we shall show you the way, alright. Illuminate it. Don’t think it will be for free, though. When the time comes, little princess, we will come calling.’

The ground beneath their feet shook, then, and, ah, there it was! Three bodies, broken and bloody, covered in soot. (They smelled like death, Selene knew-- like death and suffering, and fire, fire, fire, so much fire that she could swear her lungs burned. Was this really their fault? Yes, some part of her wanted to scream, but then again, goddesses were infallible, weren’t they? They had to be, otherwise... otherwise…) “Sol,” she barked out, unwilling to examine her thoughts further. “Make the earth accept them. If they are to rest, they need to be buried properly, I think.”

 

[starboob]

Okay, so foot in mouth disease is apparently contagious and either Sol gave it to Selene or Selene gave it to Sol. Either way, it doesn't matter, because the damage has been done and, apparently, Selene has decided that the best way to fix this mess is to take a sledgehammer to it. 'Cheese and rice, she really does not know grace at all...' Not that Sol should even be surprised that her counterpart believes she's the light shining out of, well, the moon's ass. While it's somewhat deserved, given her lineage, there is a little something called humility and Sol would love to teach that to her. (Though she can already imagine those lessons being a disaster. 'Oh, Sol,' the Selene inside of her head snarks, 'Do you really think that I, the great Selene with a head so big I get mistaken for a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon, need to care for the dirt under mineth finger nails? Now shut up before I use my super cool silver claws to cut out your tongue.' Ugh, yeah, no thanks.)

Well, nevermind Selene and her infinite ways to be unhelpful! Sol has her own plan up her sleeve and she's almost positive it will work. Even if the recipient of her hug is being so frigging resistant. "Hold still," Sol grunts through gritted teeth, "This isn't an ordinary hug––I'm not that frigging stupid." Like, geez, why does literally everyone and their mother have to think that her head is full of bees and bolts? The only people who seem to believe in her abilities are the primordial mothers and she's already disappointed them by not being to take on their quest. Fine. Fine. She may be silly and fun and willing to make an absolute fool of herself in the name of trying something unorthodox but she is not stupid! And she will prove it by calming down these flames so that her friends can return to being regular ol' spirits. That also means that instead of being spiteful, she will have to remember calm to subdue the fire. "Just––just trust me on this, okay? This is just the first step in returning you to normal," she explains, closing her eyes and hugging her friends tighter. (She remembers hugging them like this before, when her arms were a lot smaller and she could never quite fit them all in her embrace despite her best efforts. Back then she could have sworn that nothing would ever tear them apart and bring them to what they are now. Of course, then she also had never thought she'd forget them all, including Selene. Especially Selene.)

True to Sol's word, the flames that have consumed her friends die down and left in the place of the chimera are the three little girls that used to be her best friends––not quite as high ranking as Selene, but certainly high above so many others. (Goddesses, they look so small and frail. Yeah, Sol knows they're children but when she had seen them as her kid self it never really hit her. Seeing them now with her adult eyes she just can't believe that she and Selene took their entire lives away. Monica probably would have cured cancer. Rachel would have gone to Paris. Phoebe would have opened up a bakery after dropping out of college. They had entire lives ahead of them. Yet somehow the fates decided that Sol and Selene would be the survivors––probably because they are literal goddesses, but still! How is this fair?) As uncomfortable as it is, Sol doesn't look away. She looks at each of them and then offers them her hand as she takes them over to the bodies that Selene unearthed. "Selene the not-so-great, you should learn some manners. Like, I don't think a please or a thank you would kill you," Sol snaps, surprised by her own irritation and unwilling to investigate the reaction further. Annoyed, Sol places her hand on the ground and asks the roots below to create small graves for their friends. "But, yeah, sure. I'll make sure our friends are properly buried."

"Wow, so you two really aren't friends?" Rachel asks, tilting her head to the side as she looks between the two goddesses. Sol only nods in response, not really wanting to admit a second time that they haven't been friends since they were kids and nowadays Selene would rather be friends with a slug. "It's not supposed to go like that," Monica says, either criticizing the hole that Sol has opened for them in the ground or commenting on their destroyed friendship. Sol doesn't respond, again, and just takes the little ghost's hand and guides her to her body where the two merge together. She does the same for Rachel and when it's Phoebe's turn, before she goes, she looks (glares) at Selene and Sol, "You two have a big mess to clean up and being stupid meanies isn't going to help. I'm still mad at you both, but thanks for at least getting one thing right... And if you ever try to make cookies in my honor, remember that you have to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes so the ingredients can make friends and so that the butter won't leak out. Still mad, but wanted you to know the secret."

All tucked into their charred bodies, their friends look even smaller and Sol desperately wishes she could be anywhere but here. She sort of hopes that when they're all done, she'll wake up and realize that this is all a dream. That she'll have another day of peace knowing that she didn't commit war crimes as a child. As it is? She knows this is real and the weight of that knowledge is as much as the Sun itself. It won't be so easy for her to forget or ignore this. She wonders how Selene is taking this all in or if she even cares. Something tells her that Selene isn't as concerned even if her child self had her in tears.

She raises a hand over the graves and dirt falls over the bodies. Once they're covered and laid to rest, an entire garden springs to life. The moment itself is beautiful and honestly something out of a Disney movie, but Sol doesn't really enjoy it because it doesn't feel like enough and she has a feeling that nothing will ever feel like enough. It's anticlimactic in her heart and she just waits, with slumped shoulders, as they're burped out of the zombie heart and back into the psychic's little shop.

The psychic is nowhere to be seen and on the table she's left a note, 'Gone to get some snacks. Brb < 3' Sol sighs and looks over at Selene, "Do you think we're bad people?" If anything, she's banking on Selene probably not having the empathy or humility to admit that they were shitty little kids. Maybe that will make her feel better, you know? "Also, you wanna get out of here? I don't really feel like adventuring anymore." Plus, she's scared they'll uncover even more about their mysterious past and if it's more violence? Sol don't know how she will even cope.

 

[Syntra]

…Selene not-so-great? What?! The irony of Sol out of all people criticizing her manners wasn’t lost on Selene, so no, she wasn’t going to let her get away with this. Like!!! The girl barely knew how to tie her shoelaces, and yet she was going to lecture her on the nuances of etiquette? Scandalous! Nonsensical! (Humiliating, too, but it wasn’t like the moon princess was ever going to admit to that. No, the reality in which Sol had a point was way too cruel to live in, and the full realization of what had just transpired among them would surely shatter her fragile psyche. Gotta protect yourself, right? Right.) “And how, pray tell, do you know that?” she raised her eyebrow, ready to die on this particular hill. ‘Acknowledging one’s mistakes’ who? Selene did not know her, thank you very much.

“Are you an expert on my anatomy, Sol? No, of course you aren’t! There you go again, thinking that your experiences are the same as mine. How do you know, for example, that saying sorry wouldn’t kill me? The differences between our peoples are not only cultural, but physiological as well. Using your standards for me is Selene-phobic, I have to say. You disappoint me, Sol! I expected better.” …yeah, as if. The universe was doing a good enough job of disappointing her on its own, so why should she contribute to it with unreasonable expectations? Oh no, no, no! Years ago, the moon princess had learned that it was better to expect nothing, and rely on absolutely no-one. (Yes, including her mother. Especially her, come to think of it. Luna may have been the night to Sol’s day, and the ice to her fire as well, but when it came to their key properties? They weren’t too dissimilar, if you examined them from the right angle. From the Selene-centric perspective, at least, they were both frauds! Pathetic imitations of true rulers, clinging to their beloved delusions.)

Blah blah blah, the ritual continued. The moon princess couldn’t see any of it, of course, but the swirls of energy? They were dancing in the air, like silver ribbons trailing behind a bride as she walked down the aisle, and… well, something about it was almost moving, Selene had to admit. (Just a side effect of being stuck in that fake child’s body, with its fake memories and fake hormones and fake everything. How else to explain this, after all? There was no way the moon princess felt attached to anyone, least of all some stupid kids! Those weren’t even human yet-- they just could turn into them one day, if they didn’t let themselves killed by a mountain lion or whatever it was that human embryos did for fun. Just, why should she even bother to remember their names? Considering their mortality rates, that just seemed like a waste of efforts to Selene. No, she asserted, clearly, I’m out of it. The psychic must have messed with my thought processes, or… or something. Not the most exhaustive of analyses, she did agree with that, but really, the moon princess saw no other explanation! …and, no, the not-memories that were resurfacing in her mind did not count. So what if Rachel’s mom had been the best, and taken them to the zoo when she had scraped her knee? All the tea parties they had attended together didn’t matter, either, because a) Selene was pretty sure that they hadn’t been served real Earl Grey, b) none of the important guests they had invited had ever showed up. Could it even be considered a real tea party if the British Queen didn’t show up, huh? The guillotine they had built so lovingly had ended up being completely, totally pointless! What a bummer, man.)

“Bad people?” Selene raised her eyebrow. “We are not people, for starters. I don’t think that their silly moral standards apply to us. Why would you judge a wolf for devouring a gazelle? Besides, even if it really was our fault,” which was a big if, “I think that we saved them a lot of trouble. I mean, human existence is so boring and empty-- most of them seem to toil every day just to be able to afford rent, really. Is that any way to live? As I see it, we simply allowed them to skip the most boring parts,” the moon princess shrugged. “That they aren’t enjoying the afterlife is a them issue, I’d say. Doesn’t it strike you as a little ungrateful, actually? As ghosts, they can do all the fun things, without any of the responsibilities that are usually attached.”

It didn’t escape Selene that Sol was in a defeatist mood, either-- never had she thought that the day would come when her scatter-brained companion would reject the idea of adventuring, but here they were. Great, wonderful! They could return to Helia’s court, and Selene could weave her plans in peace-- no longer would she be annoyed by requests from beings lesser than her, which… “Are you for real?” she heard herself saying, despite everything. “Is that how you want this to end? If we’re here, we might as well go visit the moms of those little parasites and tell them what happened. As in, this clearly bothers you, and this is your last chance to do something with it. Is this any moment to be hesitating? I mean, sure, I wouldn’t mind ignoring their nonsense, but I thought that you were different.” Better, some part of her supplied, but Selene silenced at. Where had that come from, anyway?

 

[starboob]

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh x30948230489. Sol cannot believe that her mom has forced her to spend all of her time with Selene. Like, yeah, maybe she really wanted to make a friend of her rival three million years ago but that was a thrillion years ago (more like a few weeks ago). Today has only left her with a bitter taste in her mouth on the friendship front, because now she pretty much knows that Selene used to be friend-shaped and now she takes on the shape of a puckered butthole. (Yeah, okay, maybe the sunbeam's sour mood has something to do with the years of pent of grieving coming at her all at once. Sue her for being so irritable––it's a normal response according to her holistic therapist moms. ... wait, what? Eh, she'll let that slip-up slide because she really does not have the spoons to deal with another real-or-not-real flashback from a life that may or may not have happened.) "Yeah, with the way you're acting I think you're right," Sol remarks, "My bad for thinking humility wasn't a foreign pathogen to you moon-people." She crosses her arms over her chest and slouches in her seat, not all that interested in talking or hanging out. In a rare moment, the ray of sunshine actually wants to be alone and is yearning for the ye ol' days when she could just go up to her garden or secret oasis and hang out with her plants and take care of them. Today as just been too much for Sol and she just needs to recharge/reset and she should be back to normal. A quick sleep ought to fix this and she'll be able to go back to her life before she figured out she's made some pretty big frigging mistakes. Yep, she's pretty sure that's how it works.

Though it seems peace will remain a faraway luxury when Selene opens her stupid mouth once again. Like, yeah, Sol literally had asked for this and maybe even hoped her maladjusted rival would totally blow off their crimes and that that would help Sol move on as well, but she also mistakenly hoped that her counterpart would have been more graceful about it. It's hard to feel okay with what happened when the "comfort" she's getting goes against everything that Sol stands for. Of course she freaking cares about humans! Selene may be right that they have short lives and, in the choose your adventure that is life, they have chosen concepts like 'the economy' and 'capitalism' to worship––questionable choices to be sure––but that doesn't mean it's right to write off the early deaths of their friends. Of all the humans, Sol would have thought that her rival would have been able to display some emotion close to normal regarding Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica. "Selene," Sol starts, her tone surprisingly even though there are a million of things she wants to say in response to what her companion has just said. Ultimately, she settles on, "You and I could not be more different." She'd make a joke about it, you know the obvious one regarding them being solar opposites, but just can't bring herself to joke.

With an exaggerated sigh, the sunbeam slumps over onto the table in front of them, completely and utterly deflated. She really wishes she had some My Chemical Romance to listen to––not that she really knows much about that band, it just feels appropriate. Though when Selene shifts, rather suddenly, Sol shoots up and looks at her counterpart with wide-eyes, totally surprised she's even trying to make her feel better. Like, yeah, her delivery could still use work but that she's trying? The sunbeam can't help to feel touched (even if she's waiting for the inevitable sike to come). "Are you for real?" (She almost thinks that Selene might be feeling ill from all that exposure to dream-fire.)

Alright, well... She supposes she can pull it together if her rival is putting forth all this effort to be considerate. Besides, her companion is right. Even if she'd rather do anything other than visit their dead friends' moms and admit their crimes, she doesn't want to still be that little girl who runs from her guilt and pretends it's not there. She has to do things differently this time. "I... I guess I am done running from this. So I suppose we can visit them," she chews on her lip, still not sure if Selene is trying to play her, "I, uh, appreciate you considering my feelings. That was surprisingly kind of you. I do care about this. A lot, a lot, a lot."

"Alright, I think I actually remember where Rachel's mom lives," she says, getting up from her seat and exiting the psychic shop. Even if Phoechelica had burned down everything in town, she guesses that even their angry spirits would have spared their own moms. So here's to hoping that that theory is still correct. (Though, she also hopes that maybe they won't be able to find their moms––not that she's willing to admit that. This is just going to be sooo uncomfy and Sol is already uncomfy enough.) Sooner than she'd like, they're in front of a perfectly intact house with a beautiful garden, white picket fence, and the whole shabang. From behind the house, Sol can hear laughing and the clinking of glasses, so rather than ring the doorbell she opens the gate to the backyard. There, she finds five women sitting around a table and immediately recognizes them as their friends' moms. 'Crap. Just our luck,' she mentally groans and looks back towards Selene before sucking in a breath to face them.

"Um, hi," Sol says by way of announcing herself.

"..." the moms turn, looking entirely confused. Then Phoebe's mom breaks the awkward silence, "Can we help you? Are you girls lost?"

"No, we're not lost... Um, it's been a while," like a thrillion years, "so maybe you don't recognize us, but it's Sol and Selene. Your daughters' friends from elementary school." It feels silly to add that last bit since they were an infamous girlboss girl-gang, but Sol is definitely stalling for time.

The women look between each other, frowning, and all wearing similar expressions of puzzlement. Once again, it's Phoebe's mom who breaks the silence. She gets up from her seat and takes a few steps closer towards the young goddesses, pointing a finger at them, "Is this some kind of prank? Do you girls think you're being funny on the anniversary of girls' disappearance? Because it's not funny! Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica were not friends with any Sol or Selene. I think those are names we'd all remember."

"Yeah," one of Monica's moms chimes in, "besides, there weren't any Sols or Selenes at their elementary school. I would know, my wife and I were head of the PTA and rotated as recess aids."

 

[Syntra]

'You and I could not be more different,' she had said. Was that supposed to be an insult? Pfft! Being similar to Sol would have been a fate worse than death-- kind of like, uh, people comparing you to one of those dreadful Kardashian women unironically. (What were reality shows, even? Just another proof that the entire race deserved to go extinct, as far as she was concerned.) "Let me guess," the moon princess smirked. "My brain cells haven't been murdered and then zombified in a feeble attempt to make your subject believe that there is actually anyone upstairs. Is that it? The major difference between us?" Well, that, and Selene was also convinced that she must have been infinitely more beautiful. How not? The silvery elegance of the moon versus the vulgar brilliance of the sun, that was like lace competing against a dirty dish rags. No, there was no way that the sun heiress could beat her in literally any respect! That the primordial mothers considered the opposite to be true was a testament to their foolishness, indeed. Go to hell, Selene thought, obviously not salty at all. This is the reason you fell in obscurity, you stupid reptile hags. Stay in there and rot, for that is all you deserve! Once she became the moon queen, radiant and powerful, she'd erase their sad little existence from the history, that was for certain.

...still, the weird impulse drove her to seek closure. Why? Selene couldn't tell, and wasn't really interested in unearthing the answers. More than likely, this was a malfunction of her tired brain-- having to deal with Smeyer had been exhausting enough on its own, so she felt some lapses in judgment were inevitable. Despite what everyone seemed to think, she wasn't a machine, dammit! Besides, if Selene focused on denying the reality, surely she could come up with some acceptable justification. Perhaps her plan was to laugh in those women's faces? Ah, yes, ridiculing mortals for not possessing the gift of immortality was a time-honored tradition! It showed them where they belonged, ie. on their knees, bowing before her. (Yes, yes, that was the way of their universe! Power was all that mattered, you see? The only currency untouched by inflation, and valid in all the corners of the world. Only fools hesitated to take it for themselves, and a fool Selene very much wasn't. My time will come, she reminded herself. Patience is key. If I want to eat fruits, I must first plant the trees.

And, honestly? That probably meant they should take care of this as fast as possible, because wasting more time than necessary on random mortals would be anything but wise. That's fine. I mean, how much time can this reasonably swallow? We'll get there, tell them we killed their spawn, go 'whoopsie daisy' over it, and then we can be on our merry way. That, at least, would have happened in the ideal world-- you know, in one where justice, love, and moon reigned supreme. The catch, though? That they distinctly didn't live in such reality, to everyone's misfortune. (Was it not enough that the women failed to kiss her feet? That was how they should have reacted to the presence of their goddesses, instead of... instead of confusion. She was Selene the great, not a door-to-door saleswoman trying to drain their pathetic bank accounts! Just, how dared they? Respect was something they owed her, regardless of whether their little brains grasped it or not. And now... now they were trying to convince her that her memories were fake, apparently. Ah, the blasphemy! Would it be too much to murder them for the insult, hmm? To send them after their precious daughters? They could cry and be pathetic together, or whatever it was that humans did for fun. ...still, something told her that Sol wouldn't exactly approve. Ugh, fine, fine! Diplomacy it was, then.)

"What is it that you're saying, you absolute morons?" Selene bristled. "I realize that it must be terrible to be as empty-headed as you are, but there is one advantage to it-- at least your heads can be filled with truth easily. Not everyone can boast that. So, listen for a while, will you? We killed your daughters. Accidentally, mind you, but we did. Tbh," ah, dammit, Sol's verbal tics were infectious, too, "it was their fault. They kept begging us to show them our mothers and magic and so on and so forth, and we couldn't not try, you see? I suppose it's encoded in our DNA, to try and please our followers. An unfortunate fate, if you ask me. Anyway, the bright side of all of this? Your daughters got to die an interesting way, and were involved with the most important goddesses in the entire pantheon. Can a mortal possibly aim higher? I mean," Selene shrugged, "technically, she can, but a roach can also try to become a famous writer and that doesn't mean it will work out. Effort is overrated, is what I'm saying. In summary, rejoice! Not many are afforded such an honor, I have to say-- most mortals' deaths are as meaningless as their lives." Whew, that could have been awkward! Once again, my rhetorical skills save the day.

 

[starboob]

It really does baffle Sol that, once upon a time, many eons ago, her and Selene used to be Best Friends. Like, you probably could have looked up the definition of 'best friend' in the dictionary and their picture would have been under it. Now, she cannot even believe she would have ever wanted to be friends with someone who is so frigging mean she puts wolverines and honey badgers to shame. What the frick was her younger self even thinking? (Ugh, to open that can of worms she'd have to acknowledge that back in the good ol' days her counterpart used to be a lot cooler. Still weird, still a know-it-all, still fairly mean but at least she had something called charm. Something the new Selene lacks as well as a baseline EQ. However, since Sol does not want to open that can of worms so she will just pretend that she didn't and wait for the worms to clear themselves up. Mhm, ignoring things always works! Nothing to see here. ...But while we're on the subject, it's such a scam that her current self still wants to call the moon daughter a friend. She supposes that at least now she knows why, but it's only a little less pathetic than being friendship starved. Eh, whatevs. Sol cannot change the desires of her hearts, unfortunately.)

Bitterly, she closes her eyes and actually prays that her mom smites her for leaving the Sun court without permission. That would be a drillion times more preferable than watching, in complete and abject horror, as Selene not only puts her entire foot in her mouth, but eats it too! (Unfortunately, that's just a metaphor because if it were literal? Sol would be rather impressed, ngl, and would not be nearly as horrified. Freaking twelve Suns, she is going to have to start carrying duct-tape with her for whenever they're not alone.)

"Selene," Sol whines, finally having found a way to work past her embarrassment to try to stop Selene from taking a pickaxe to this stupid grave they dug for themselves years and years ago. "Do you have to be so... yourself all the time?" she asks, knowing she probably should have addressed their dead friends' moms first to apologize for her rival's weirdo behavior. 'Maybe they will believe me if I tell them that it's opposite day?'

However, before Sol can backtrack, Rachel's mom blurts out, "What. the. fuck?! What the fuck is your problem? Who even says that to grieving mothers? Were you raised by wolves? Is this for some TikTok prank for clout? Because newsflash, assholes––this isn't funny. Get the fuck out of my backyard!!"

"You heard her," Phoebe's mom snaps, getting closer to both the intruders and giving a look so murderous it almost rivals Selene's resting b-word face.

"W-wait! No, don't kick us out just yet! It was clearly a bad idea to let the world's least empathic person," she gestures towards Selene, in case there is any confusion, "break that news to you. She's just very impatient and doesn't understand people that well––which I think is going to be a real problem when she becomes a full goddess because I can easily see her killing off all her followers for transgressions like, 'Cries too much while watching sad dog movies––'"

"Get––"

"Anyway!!" Sol continues, before that thought can be finished, "It's not your fault you don't remember us. We barely remember you," and their daughters, but Sol withholds that tidbit, "I don't know exactly why that is, but I promise we know you. You know us. We knew your daughters. I mean, Mrs. Phoebe's mom, how else can you explain me knowing that Phoebe always wanted a cowgirl themed birthday party but you wouldn't let her because you were always concerned about perpetuating the idea that the expansion west had been good?"

"I... How did you..." Phoebe's mom mutters.

"Or, Mrs. Monica's moms, how else would I know that Monica used to collect broken snail shells so that she could fix them up?" At that Monica's moms look between each other and appear on the edge of convinced. "And Mrs. Rachel's mom––Selene and I were the ones who told Rachel she should totally dye her hair blue after you said no. We even helped her do it and all three of us got in trouble. We knew them, okay? And, yeah, we... We are responsible for their disappearance, as my maladjusted companion said. She didn't say it gracefully, but that is basically what happened. We were too scared to tell you back, because we were little and dumb and scared. I'm sorry that you had to find out like this," Sol finishes, skirting her gaze all over the garden and avoiding the moms' faces.

For a moment that is way too long to not count for one million years, the moms all just stare at the young goddesses. Selene and Sol might as well have rolly pollies crawling out of their eyes with the look they give them. Honestly, Sol isn't sure that this is going to have the desired effect––not that she really had a desired effect when deciding to finally confess her crimes from a hundred years ago that she only found out about, like, an hour ago. Finally, Rachel's mom stands up (wow, she's tall). She grabs Sol's face and then carefully looks at Selene's (probs for the best that she doesn't enter Selene's personal sphere). "Get out of my backyard, you fucking weirdo freaks," she spits (which is not at all what Sol thought she'd say). "Get out!" she screams, swatting them with a rolled up magazine, "Get out!"

 

[Syntra]

"Wolves," Selene muttered, her eye twitching, "are actually pretty great when it comes to raising their pups. Have you actually seen a wolf that cannot dance, or that wears wrong clothes to wrong occasions? No? Well, there is a reason for that." It was the fault of the sun court that people viewed wolves as uncultured brutes, really-- thanks to their association with the moon, Selene did not doubt. (Just, how petty could Helia get? Was the sun's obvious supremacy not enough for her? Did she also have to rob them of their pride, like some cartoon villain? Well, newsflash, because she couldn't do that. Never, never, never! Their self-image, you see, didn't depend on something as petty as people's approval-- it stemmed from the knowledge that they were better than everyone else, by the virtue of their very birth. How could you possibly take that away from them, hmm?) "Besides, I do not see what was wrong with what I said," Selene complained. "All I did was present facts to you, without any protective layers. Is that not the very definition of respect? Grieving mothers, pfft. Does that give you any privileges I wasn't aware of?" In Selene's eyes, that just seemed silly-- yes, they probably were upset that they'd wasted time and precious resources on daughters that they could never properly use in the end, but come on! It wasn't as if mothers actually liked their children. They did enjoy them in some capacity, certainly, though only in the same way you might enjoy a good weapon, or a prized plan hatched from a great strategist's head. What were daughters to them, after all, if not extensions of themselves? If not tools to use? Goodness gracious, their grief seemed so fake that it almost made her want to barf.

"What are you saying?!" one of the women wailed. "I don't... I can't even. Do you brats have no hearts?"

"Uhhh... I am fairly sure that I have one," Selene supplied, oh so helpfully. "Inconvenient as it is, it's a biological necessity. Blood is being pumped through my veins, and from that, you can infer that I do, in fact, possess the organ." Were humans as ignorant as to not know even that? The moon princess hadn't thought much of them, but it seemed that she might still have overestimated the pathetic little worms. "It was my impression that you had educational institutions in place-- you know, like the school that we accidentally burned down. Did you not learn that there? If not, I'd say that it failed you. I mean, that seems like pretty based knowledge to have."

"...do you think the cops would care if we killed them?" one of the mothers whispered to her companion. (Ah ha! Was she hoping to hide that question from Selene's ears? Tough luck, for a goddess could even hear grass grow.)

"Not sure, but any jury in the world would free us," the other woman replied. "Just record what they're saying, and we're golden." Now, Selene did not know what that meant, but honestly? It couldn't be that important. So often, humans blabbed on and on, without really saying anything-- poor prisoners of their own hubris, really. (As a princess, Selene pitied them. In a way, she understood, you see? Understood the need to at least feel relevant, even if they weren't. Seizing control of their narrative was the one way for them to do that, when reality itself laughed in their ugly faces.)

Anyway, before the moon daughter could even begin to decipher their ramblings, the other woman decided that She Had Had EnoughTM. Rather unceremoniously, they were being cast out, and... and that filled Selene with blind hot rage, actually. How dared they?! Compared to them, they were but specks of dust floating through the space, forgotten and irrelevant. Their bones would be reduced to ashes in a blink of the eye, and yet, yet they'd had the gall to insult them! Them, the daughters of creation, to whom death was but a slap on the wrist.

"That was rather terrible of them, don't you think?" she turned to Sol, in a rare moment of sympathy. "I cannot believe their lack of manners, truly. I could forgive them not kissing our feet, solely because the religious education in their world seems to be terribly lacking, but to act as if their words actually matter? Sad, if you ask me. Clearly, they do not know their place." That was a common problem with humans, according to her understanding-- the gift of speech had gotten in their heads, she wagered. (Why had her foremothers decided to give it to them, even? So that they could worship them in a way most pleasing to their ears? Selene did get that, sort of, but she also believed that they had gone too far. Wouldn't it have been wiser to give them speech mimicry? You know, the ability to form the words they wanted them to say, without the hassle of them forming their own thoughts? That would have saved them a lot of trouble, the moon princess thought.)

"We cannot leave like that," she asserted, authority ringing in her voice. "They've disrespected their goddesses, and for that, they must pay. Have you learned how to call plague upon their crops already? I know how to turn them into werewolves, but I feel like that would be a power up. Not sure if they deserve that, honestly. Hmm, hmm. How about poisoning their water supply? I've heard that humans are pretty sensitive to that-- besides, we could make them reunite with their precious daughters that way. No need for them to grieve then!"

 

[starboob]

'Note to self: Ditch Selene when you go off on your next adventure.' See, it had been one thing to (be forced to) hang out with the moon daughter when Sol's assessment of her had been that she has all the appeal and charm of a wet blanket in the middle of winter and it's an entirely different thing when her assessment has shifted to something like... she's grossly incompetent at being a normal person? Like, before, Sol had some hope that she could convert Selene to the fun side of life and that they could destress and bond over fresh honey, but now she realizes how foolish and naïve she had been to think that her opposite is even capable of such normalcy since she is so far from normal she might as well be in a totally different galaxy. 'Second note to self: Confirm that the moon is, in fact, located in the Milky Way, because I'm McFreaking starting to think otherwise.' It really does not make sense to Sol that someone like Selene, someone who is so obsessed with following rules and upholding archaic structures, would suck this much at being a young goddesses. Like, having loads of power and basically being invincible does not just give a goddess license to act like a frigging tool! Sol is going to need a major destress sesh in the hot springs once she escapes this current fiasco.

(Also, Sol has to disagree about wolves being civil. She had wanted to like them. She really, really had. Then she met one, it bit her on sight, and that caused her to feve for ten days and she missed out on the harvest festival. Only fax, no printer. Honestly, she'll probably still give them another chance, but right now the sunbeam does think that wolves are kind of mean for no reason––much like Selene, so maybe that's why she likes them so much.) At this point, she shouldn't even consider herself surprised that Selene is totally useless when it comes to diplomacy and yet... Here she is, shocked as ever that someone can be so out of touch with her own goddess-ity (like humanity, but for goddesses) that she'd continue running her big dumb stupid mouth as if things like consequences do not exist! Yes, they may be goddesses and are above many things, but consequence is just not one them, unfortunately. So really, Sol doesn't at all blame the mothers for kicking them out and she's honestly quite grateful they've been chased out of that backyard. That entire situation was freaking awkward and Sol makes a third note to herself to never go along with any of Selene's suggestions since she clearly does not know how to handle herself.

While Selene is suggesting her next extremely weird idea, Sol is only half listening and searching through the folds of her dress for the compass to take them back to the Sun court, because she has had It. She is done with today. She is done with Selene. She just wants to go back to a home that doesn't really feel like a home and soak in the hot springs. In that boiling hot water, all of her problems will just melt away and she will be able to forget about all of the little horrors she has experienced today.

Sighs. If only.

"Selene!" Sol exclaims, surprised and not surprised by her companion's idea. "First of all, that's really cool that you can turn people into werewolves and it definitely seems like it would be an upgrade, but no. I don't know how to plague people's crops and even if I did, what good would that do? Ruin Rachel's mom award winning roses? Like, that's not exactly nice and to be totally Sol about this? I don't blame them for kicking us out. Who cares if we're goddesses and they didn't kiss our feet? That's not the point of being a goddess. You acted like a real butthole and got the treatment you deserved. And word to the unwise, you totally need to get your act together if you want to be the goddess of anything because if I were a human? I'd totally ignore the butthole moon goddess and I'm almost positive that that's what they'll call you," mostly because Sol will definitely call her that if her rival doesn't ever get some personality replacement therapy. "Just leave them alone. They've been through enough and you have put them through enough. Learn when to quit, dude."

Besides, Sol is satisfied leaving this place knowing they at least tried. It's not her fault that their dead friends' moms don't remember them anymore. It's not her fault that they couldn't apologize properly as a result. It definitely isn't her fault that the mom's reacted the way they did because that was entirely Selene the great butthole's fault. (Okay, maybe she is a little teeny weeny bit upset that things didn't go well, but she doesn't really think they can fix this. Not with Selene being herself and definitely not with the moms having zero recollection of them. She doesn't see how any of this is salvageable. Not while Selene is involved.) "I thought you wanted to try to make things right? But you just poured oil on everything. We could have been done with this entire adventure had you let us just go home earlier, but then you were all, 'But Sol I thought you'd wanna do this,' and I was like, 'I mean, I guess,' and I gave it a shot and you blew everything up," 'like you always do,' she might have added if she thought that were going to be helpful.

"Why even waste your energy on people you don't even care about? That's a little brain move you know," Sol continues on, indignant as ever with her hands on her hips. Of course she's bummed that the mom's reacted so poorly to their arrival and, again, she cannot blame them when Selene is the one who didn't have the decency to be kind. "Besides, we murdered their kids and giving them a one way ticket to being dead too, is not the solution to your butt hurt feelings. They have every right to treat us less than worms. We may as well be dirt to them, " she huffs, surprised that she can harbor so much annoyance for an individual that isn't her mom. Maybe she's so annoyed because she knows Selene can be better and is better, somewhere probably deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down inside? Most likely, but it hurts too much to try to excavate those remnants and the sunbeam is much too emotionally exhausted to put in the effort. Maybe tomorrow she'll feel revived, but as of right now, she wants to take a fat nap. "Anyway, I'm going back to celestial realm. You can stay here forever if you want to continue being a terror to the citizens of earth, or you can come back with me. Honestly? I don't give a rat's butt what you decide," but she's kind of hoping Selene stays behind. She's tired of the actual joy killer.

 

[Syntra]

Pfft! What did Sol even know about these things, anyway? Throughout her little rant, the sun heiress had only managed to prove one thing-- namely, that for someone with a single braincell, her vocabulary was surprisingly… hmm, expansive. Her fixation on the word ‘butthole’ was a little concerning, yes, but who was Selene to judge? The girl’s processor was probably overloaded as it was, so it only made sense for her to lighten the burden, at least a little bit. Spontaneously combusting would be bad even for Helia’s daughter, you know? Still, Selene would be lying if she said that she wasn’t at all shocked by Sol’s outburst. As in, what? Usually, her counterpart seemed about as threatening as a sword made out of cotton candy, and in case you didn’t know, those didn’t exactly tend to strike fear into your enemies’ hearts. Seeing real steel flash under the layers of that… well, that was most interesting, she had to admit. (Since meeting Sol, Selene had wondered whether it truly was Helia that had brought her into this world. A mother’s essence, you see, was a blueprint-- a map according to which you were constructed, body and soul. It didn’t take a genius to understand that something had gone terribly wrong with that process where Sol was concerned, now did it? Because Helia’s daughter should have been both terrible and beautiful, like the explosion of a star. What if her mean side had been hiding underneath all this time, though? Bubbling under the surface, like lava in the heart of the earth? A most interesting theory, certainly. I wonder, Selene smirked, if I will be able to awaken that monster inside of her. To make her see who she truly is, stripped of those stupid ideals of hers. Sol liked to think that she was better than everyone else, but wasn’t that but a proof of her folly? Children could never step out of their mothers’ shadows, after all, and Helia’s shadow was the sharpest of them all. Surely, that meant that Sol had the same capacity for cruelty…? Someone only had to dig it up, and man, did that seem like a fun, fun, fun job.)

“I will not discuss this matter with you,” Selene raised her chin. “It is obvious that you are foolish, and understand not how the world works. If a goddess doesn’t rule with fear, she is disrespected. How do you think it has even progressed into this state, hmm? Have you ever thought about why the mortals don’t seem to dedicate their lives to worshiping us anymore? Why, it’s because our revered mothers have gotten lazy. Back in the age of magic, it was enough for a human to even utter our names disrespectfully, and a punishment was on its way! They doubted us not, because for that, they would have to be blind. These days, however?” she scoffed. “Our mothers have stopped being vigilant, and the humans forgot about us. This fiasco is their fault entirely, even if they deny it. Worry not, though! It is a mistake that I intend to correct, as soon as I claim my throne.”

There was nothing for them to do on that godforsaken, desolate planet, so returning to the sun court it was-- not that the place was better, with its hot sands and fiery pits and searing heat, but at least she didn’t have to deal with the judgment of their so-called “””friends””” there. Pfft, as if dying is a big deal. Shouldn’t they be thanking us for freeing them from the chains of existence? Why, yes, they should, they should! (…right, that was why Selene should bury the guilt even deeper inside, to a place so dark that nobody would ever find it. It wasn’t like it was a real emotion, now was it? Still, still she was dealing with those weird post-humanity after effects, and those were the only reason behind her… behind her… no, she wasn’t even going to name it. Names were too powerful, alright? In order for you to give them out, you first had to understand the subject matter, and delving too deep could be… well, dangerous. Eye-opening, in a way too powerful for many to withstand. Besides, what if you ended up being wrong? The preconception would be accepted as truth, and would blind you to reality. No, no, no, it was better to stay away!)

…the next few days were uneventful, or at least as uneventful as they could possibly be. Selene mostly trailed behind Sol, both a bodyguard and her shadow-- one could easily think her subservient, but that hypothetical person? They would have been wrong, wrong, wrong, and quite drastically at that. Didn’t a predator need to observe its prey before it struck, after all? Oh yes, yes! Only sheep thought otherwise, used to grazing on grass and not much else. I shall know you better than you know yourself, the moon princess thought, and with that knowledge, I will unravel you. You had to be aware of the weak spots to determine where to pull, you see? That way, the whole structure would collapse with minimum effort, as if it was a house of cards.

…nevertheless, it seemed that that particular development would have to wait. Selene was just trying to explain to Sol that, no, you couldn’t drink wine from a coffee cup (oh, sweet mother of barbarism!) when one of the inconsequential starlets whose name she had never bothered to remember kicked the door open.

“Princess Selene!” she shouted, barely able to catch her breath. “Your mother, the enlightened Helia, sends a message. Her royal highness… she says that the werewolves attacked the southern border, and you are to defend it. You can pick any number of warriors, but you must head there immediately. The future of the queendom depends on you now! …for some reason, I guess.”

 

[starboob]

Admittedly, Sol does agree with some of Selene's points from the other day––not the part where she said she's a fool or that goddesses should rule by fear to earn respect (that's always struck her as cowardly and insecure way to rule), but that their mothers have devastated the sanctity of their rule. Sol would never voice this to Helia, of course, she enjoys having her molars not sealed together, but she cannot deny that her mother's narrow vision has caused her to neglect certain aspects of her queendom. All she cares about these days is ensuring totality, ensuring that summer lasts a little longer, and pushing out the moon's false light wherever she can manage. She has not at all paid any attention to the concerning desertification of the lands. Sol has heard rumors, after all, that when Lā had ruled, the queendom had been lush and green––the ocean back then had not receded and they had beaches! Real beaches! Now everything is shades of beige or covered in dust. Don't get Sol wrong, there is beauty in the desert, but these are not the same lands Helia inherited all those centuries ago. So, if anything, Sol can agree that her mother has been neglectful and when it's up to Sol? She will restore their lands and make amends with the ocean.

It's with this in mind that Sol has a momentary lapse in neglecting her studies. This is not to say that she has actually been going to her lessons. Pah! Everyone knows that her tutors are big dummies filled with whatever hot air her mom has blown into them. She'll never learn anything important from them. Instead, she has filled most of her days with stealing books from the restricted section of the library, tending to her garden/general exploring, and avoiding Aquila at all costs. One could say that this is not much different than how Sol usually would spend her days, however those people would be very wrong! You see, this time around she's really paying attention to what her garden whispers to her, what the sands say during the evening hours, and trying to determine where her secret oasis gets its water from. She's trying to learn from the lands as she doesn't think they will lie to her or keep secrets from her.

She has also been making a concentrated effort to understand Selene, but that's proving to be quite the task with who Selene is as a person. (It sucks she's nothing like kid!Selene. Sol would doubt that those memories were even real had it not been for that time capsule with clear imprints of their past selves clinging to it.) 'Patience, young padawan. Someday you'll thank yourself for knowing thy rival,' she reminds herself. If Selene isn't willing to unify the courts, then Sol is going to need to understand how to work with her so that she can both restore the Sun court to its former glory and ensure her people are protected from someone as ruthless as Selene the butthole.

Anyway, on a day as bright and sunny as today? Sol has been trying to practice her fire magic. The operative word being "trying," as in she has not been successful. At most she has only been able to get the candle wick to smoke before she gets too scared and loses focuses. Hence, the wine. 'This ought to lower my inhibitions...' She also thought it would have delighted Selene to know that she intended to use cup to drink her wine, rather than just drinking it straight from the bottle. Just, geez, there really is no pleasing her bodyguard. "Do you ever ge––"

Whatever Sol was going to say is thankfully interrupted by one of her mom's messengers bursting into her room completely unannounced. The sunbeam may have been able to celebrate not being royally summoned by the Royal Pain, her queen mother, had the messenger not informed her that she is to lead a group of forces to take care of some werewolves. "Ex-squeeze me?" she asks, mouth hanging agape in the most un-princess like fashion that causes the starling to wrinkle her nose in disapproval. "This, uhh, this... This isn't really a Sol task. Are you sure you weren't meant to send for, like, literally anyone else?" It's not like Sol has been to any of her lessons related to military strategy or battle.

"No. For reasons beyond myself, our blessed queen has decided it's time for you to stop neglecting your duties," it takes everything in Sol to not laugh at the word dooties, "and lead our people, for once. I would act accordingly as actual lives rest in your hands." And just as Sol is thinking she'll pretend to take care of things and let the fire signs, who will inevitably be spying on her, take care of this, the messenger adds, "The fire signs will not be accompanying you. They have other matters to attend to. May the Sun guide you, princess," the messenger finishes, bowing as she exits leaving Sol alone. Well, Selene is with her but it's not like she doesn't still feel alone in the moon daughter's forced company. She groans and rubs her hands over her face.

Okay, okay, okay, okay. Sol totally has a handle on her current predicament. Totally. That she looks like she's about to throw up is entirely unrelated. (Once again, she is thankful that Selene cannot see her.) She is fearless! She is Sol. She will figure this out. "Hey, Selene, as the resident werewolf expert how reasonable are they?" Not that she doesn't expects the moon daughter to either A) lie through her teeth or B) be unhelpful in some other way, she just has to say something. Talking releases her nerves. Kinda. "Like, if I just talk to their leader, we'll be Gucci Gucci, right? I mean, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot/paw with them. Dogs already don't like me for some reason and I really want to snuggle with one someday. Not that I think werewolves are, like, 100 percent dog but maybe I have a better chance at making a breakthrough with them than a regular Balto?"

Also, Sol doesn't exactly expect any kind of support from her mom's troops after she melted all their weapons and armor to make a giant statue with huge titties as a fun prank. So one can imagine her surprise when a small force of women are waiting for her outside of the armory. "Princess. We are here to accompany you on your mission," that's honestly so shocking to the sunbeam, "We have placed bets on how long you'll last," and that's not so shocking. Also, it's very rude, but Sol decides not to call attention to that. She'll just... She'll just defund the military when it's her time to rule.

"Really?" she smiles, pretending the commander has not just insulted her, "That sounds like excellent team building!" Internally, it only makes her more nervous that she's going to have an audience to her inevitable failure. Like, Sol never thought she'd live to see the day she'd regret skipping her lessons. She takes a big deep breath and grabs her shield, purposely not grabbing a weapon. Maybe a huge mistake, but she just doesn't see herself using it realistically. Sighing once more she steps onto one of the teleportation pads and pops over to the southern border in an instant.

The village that sits on the border is practically collapsed, she can hear citizens screaming from all sides, and the smell of blood is thick in the air. The sunbeam's heartbeat skyrockets immediately as she surveys the damages and immediately recognizes that she has no idea how she is going to handle this. It's like her mom wants her to fail! And for what purpose? She has no idea, but she's pretty sure that she does actually need to prove her mom wrong with this assignment. If not out of spite, then because these people totally do not deserve to get eaten by werewolves. "Okay, uh, fan out?" she half-heartedly orders, definitely just repeating what she's heard in 'movies.' "Help the civs?" The officers snicker in response, not even making an effort to hide their lack of respect for their princess, but ultimately do spread out. Once they're gone, Sol turns to Selene, "Are werewolves anything like the ones in Twilight? Or are they more Underworld-y? Should I have brought a vacuum cleaner? Wait is that PC? Ugh, I don't know what I'm even doing."

 

[Syntra]

“Werewolves? Those are super reasonable,” Selene smirked. “They follow all the old laws to the t, if that’s what you’re asking. You won’t be able to bribe them with cotton candy,” or anything, really, “but they can be negotiated with.” Of course, Sol’s idea of ‘negotiation’ most likely differed from that of her wolf sisters, but where was the fun in pointing that out? Oh no, no, no! It was always better for the uninitiated to find out for themselves what, exactly, the old law entailed. (Blood was the only currency, and cries for help the only contract that mattered. Those tended to be genuine, you know? No language barrier could distill the message behind them, that was for sure! Ah, in moments such as this one, Selene truly regretted that her eyes had been sewn shut-- seeing the sun heiress’s expression would have been priceless.) “Come on, little sunbeam. Isn’t irrational optimism your entire shtick? Forget your worries and simply do what you’re best at!” …which, of course, was ignoring reality. (Did she own literal rose-tinted glasses? Once again, Selene regretted not being able to see for herself. Perhaps I could get her one of those? The symbolism would most likely be lost on the daft girl, but considering that getting her to trust her wasn’t a bad plan… well, it could be both an inside joke and an attempt to repair her reputation after some of, uh, less-than-wise decisions that she had taken.) “Doubts don’t become you, Sol. Why are you afraid, even? Are you not Helia’s daughter? The one who is going to sit on the throne, and rule over the great, star-dotted skies?” Not if Selene had anything to say about it, of course, though mentioning that didn’t feel like the most strategic course of action under the sun. “Being my kind self,” hahaha, “I will share some information about the proud culture. There is no better shield, after all, than knowledge! How does that sound?” Hopefully tempting enough, even if the moon princess obviously didn’t intend to help her in any meaningful way. As in, did she look like a sucker? No? Then why, pray tell, would you expect her to do something that only suckers do, hmmm? Those who couldn’t survive on their own deserved to be ground to dust, and feed the earth with their flesh!

Speaking of suckers, though… Hmm, hmm. I wonder what this is all about! The werewolves, as Selene knew, were oathbound, and that very oath tied their hands-- they could only spill the blood of sacrifices, the ones marked and chosen by the Moon. To be ripped to shreds like that was holy, you see? Because with your entrails spilling out, and all your secrets laid bare, you could finally be embraced by the one true goddess in your entirety. Obviously, their enemies should not receive such an honor! What had happened, then? Had the villagers broken the truce? That, or perhaps it’s something else. Perhaps the grand spirit called them, and they could not disobey her voice. It was but a legend, Selene had read, but… well, what if all her teachers had been wrong? What if they couldn’t see the truth, blinded by their own foolishness? Interesting, interesting, indeed. (Helia, too, was another piece of this mystery puzzle. Did she know something that they didn’t? Usually, the sun queen kept her beloved, worthless heiress close to her side, as if she was worried that the girl would break, and yet, yet she did a complete 180 turn here. Why did Selene have a feeling that they were lied to, hmm? Lied to, or perhaps not told the entire story?)

Regardless of her theories, it was time to depart, and it didn't take too long for them to arrive in the godforsaken village. "Do you only watch pleb series?" Selene rolled her eyes, unsurprised but still disappointed. "No, none of those comparisons are accurate. If anything, the werewolves are... uh, kind of like the nosferatu from Vampire: The Masquerade? Except that they are not vampires, obviously." Before Selene could explain what that meant, ie. Quasimodo-like appearance + all the charm of a pile of trash, the need for her to do so diminished greatly. Nothing like a good example, you know? And the werewolf that towered over all of them, covered in blood and soot, was certainly one of them. (Death followed in her footsteps, Selene could tell. You didn't really need eyes to see that-- the smell clung to her, like the ghosts of her kills, and oh, those had been numerous, alright.)

"You?" she asked, apparently unimpressed with what she was seeing. (And, honestly? #relatable, even if the moon princess wasn't at all certain what hashtags were.) "You are Helia's daughter? Leave, child, before things get ugly. You know nothing, and thus you can fix nothing. The grievance we bear has nothing to do with you, but should you stand in our way, we will tear you apart. Sins have to be cleansed, wouldn't you agree?" The wolf stared at Sol, in a way that was both quizzical and searing, and then she suddenly threw her head back in laughter. "Or have you come to challenge me, perhaps? Alright, why not! You may pick your weapon, little one. If you can make me scream, I promise I will talk to you! If that doesn't happen, however? My lips will remain sealed, and the villagers will all die."

 

[starboob]

“The old laws?” Sol asks, somehow able to give the impression that there are at least five cartoon question marks popping up above her head. Like, geez Louise (whoever that is) who knew that in order to be a future monarch she’d also need to know about the old laws?! Like, no one freaking told her this. (Actually, several people have told her this.) It looks like this will be another instance where the sunbeam just has to fake it until she makes it because there is no time for her to become Elle Woods in a snap. At least Selene seems to be in an encouraging mood today, even calling her her favorite nickname for herself, little sunbeam, and that sort of helps... well, not calm her nerves, but she does feel somewhat better with the reminder that she is Helia’s daughter. Not that she likes being Helia’s daughter, mind you, but Selene is right about the fact that she is destined to co-rule over the dotted skies. She’s going to have to learn how to be brave and strong for the people of her court. As much as she wants everything to be bubblegum and rainbows, she has a sense that with Selene as her counterpart she won’t always have the peace she so desires for her queendom. For that, she will have to face some challenges and she will do it with a smile! Like all heroes do and, if nothing else, she does want to be a hero much like the ones in her comic books. (No one tell her mom about her secret comic book collection.) “Shoot, well... I’m pretty persuasive so this should be like eating some cherry pie,” she shrugs, scanning the horizon for any wolfies to negotiate with. (Selene said they won’t accept cotton candy, which Sol wouldn’t have used to bribe them anyway, so maybe they will be open to a tea party? And maybe her amazing hostess skills will inspire them to make peace? ‘No, no, that definitely won’t work... maybe an arm wrestling contest?’ As if Sol’s noodle arms don’t already fail at opening ordinary jars of pickles.)

“What’s wrong with liking pop culture? It’s popular. That means it’s the best. Sorry that I didn’t go to the university of speaking like a snob where we learn about obscure hipster stuff like masquerade vampires,” she snips back, rolling her eyes. “Oh, hey did I ever tell you my hipster joke? I bet you’ll love it!” she exclaims, somehow able to cycle through her emotions as if it were as easy as putting on a new outfit. “The hipster burned her mouth on the pizza because she ate it before it was cool, haha! Wait... that’s not how you set up that joke,” she taps her chin thoughtfully, but before she can figure out the actual delivery to her amazing joke? A very ugly, distinctly not fluffy, human dog thing approaches the young goddesses.

Immediately, Sol is reminded of her mission and why she’s here. Like, it’s hard to ignore the shreds of skin and blood of her people that covers the beast from head to toe. ‘Wow, I want to vom,’ she thinks, wondering how uncouth it would be to find a bucket or corner to hurl into. ...She guesses that won’t make a good impression and since impressions are everything, she just swallows her disgust instead. “Uh, yeah, hi! I’m Helia’s kiddo and you can call me Sol,” she laughs nervously, somehow still smiling as brightly as ever. She'd look to Selene for guidance but she somehow doesn't think the moon daughter is going to be all that helpful, even if she did offer her wisdom earlier. "And I'd like to know just what's going on, so if you could please tell me that would be great. Like, I'm sure this is just a big ol' misunderstanding and I really don't want this to get ugly, well, uglier. Really, I don't think we need to hurt anymore innocent people..." she trails off as she watches someone get torn apart in the background. (Once again, the need to hurl is back with a vengeance.)

Oh, but somehow what she said got misconstrued into a challenge? That's definitely not what Sol meant to do, because she is (1) not a fighter (2) would definitely lose, because see point (1) and (3) everyone is going to die and it's going to be all her fault because see points (1) and (2)!!!! 'Crap, crap, crap! How do I keep getting myself into these messes?' "Well, no... I'm not really here to challenge you to physical fight," she says, trying to think of a reasonable way out of a fight. Selene said they were reasonable, right? Right. So there has to be some alternative that will appease the werewolf. Argh! If only she knew anything about the old laws. (Yeah, she could ask Selene, but Selene's help is usually about as useful as a peephole in a glass door.) "What if we exchanged, um, words? Like, jokes. Whoever, uh, makes the other crack a rib laughing wins and loser goes home?"

"I'd rather just crack your ribs with my claws," the werewolf frowns, unamused, "Is this some kind of joke, daughter of Helia? If so, it's not very funny. Grab your weapon before I tear you and this village to shreds."

Yeaaah, this is going to end so terribly. Even if this is one way to save the people of this village, Sol being the one who has to fight this battle? It's a death sentence in its own right and that doesn't exactly sit well with the ray of sunshine. 'Woah, woah, woah. Wait, Sol... Why are you getting down on yourself? You helped defeat the mothericorn. You're a young goddess. You are the heiress to the ultimate power in the galaxy and you're scared of a wolfie? You really think this is how your story ends? Pfft, you haven't even had your epic pirate x princess romance yet,' she reminds herself, feeling her confidence return to her as she thinks up a plan. Wordlessly, she nods in agreement and then turns to face Selene while tightening the straps on her shield. "Listen, if this fight ends up taking super long can you go back to the palace and feed Eggbert,” her iguana, “for me? It's almost her feeding time and I don't want her to feel like she is being starved. There are some crickets somewhere in my room, just listen for them and you should be able to find them easy peasy. Oh, and if this lasts a few days, then I'm going to need you to tend to my herd. Blueberry has been giving me attitude lately, so if she gives you attitude just be firm with her. Not, like, Selene firm," she clarifies, knowing who her counterpart is as a person, "but like me firm. Oh, and if you have any tips so that I don't take that long that'd be super nice, since you're in a nice mood today and all. No presh, though, if you changed your mind. I know you’re a fickle pickle."

“Come on little one!” the wolfie barks, “Face me and show me whether the sun is still one to fear.”

Yeah, as if Sol is really going to strike fear in the hearts of her enemies, but this is a responsibility she cannot really avoid so she’ll put her best foot forward. Which apparently means summoning a field of prehensile cacti tentacles and sending them towards her opponent.

 

[Syntra]

Pfft! Pop culture = good? Selene hadn't thought that Sol's opinions could possibly get even more plebeian, but here they were, she supposed. "A lot of people liking something," the moon princess began, "only means that it panders to the lowest common denominator. It says nothing, and so it's pleasant for the masses to listen to. Don't you know that they're empty? Void of thought? That is why they enjoy content that reflects that-- vapid, dumbed-down nonsense, thousand times regurgitated. The death of independent thinking, really." Because her, Selene, obviously didn't suffer from such things! Blindly following the tradition was actually smart and honorable, thank you very much. What do you mean, that she was falling for the same kind of trap? When Selene did it, it obviously didn't count. "How come that your mother didn't teach you? I would have thought that stressing how low quality other goddesses are is an important part of a ruler's curriculum, but apparently not." Which, how foolish! How could a queen rule if she wasn't aware of her own superiority, hmm? Ideals of equality were lofty, indeed, but they tended to lead to a lot of unpleasantness-- such as, you know, people trying to influence her decisions. As in, did this look like a democracy? No? Then stop trying to force the meme, you ignorant assholes! ...meme. Goodness gracious, interacting with Sol really must have damaged her brain! Hopefully it isn't permanent, though.

As Sol continued to demonstrate her lack of diplomatic aptitude, Selene had to smirk. This is Helia's hope for the future? Really? Nothing against her, of course, but the princess had a sneaking suspicion that even a hamster in a party hat would have been a better throne-sitter. If nothing else, it would have had a better PR? Nobody expected intellectual stunts from a hamster, after all, and unlike Sol, it could also deliver additional cuteness. "Greetings, oh great mother," she lowered her head, because at least someone here should know how to behave herself. "You set your sights on Selene, the daughter of Luna. How come that your steps led you here?" The princess saw her not, of course, and yet, yet she could sense her hesitation.

"The daughter of our esteemed... no, no, that cannot be!" the creature scoffed. "Selene, the Silver Princess, has voyaged beyond the horizon to claim other territories for us. Why, pray tell, would she be accompanying the sun harlot? Nonsense! You shall pay for attempting to impersonate her, you worthless imitation. Once I'm done with Helia's daughter, I'll show you what we do with liars in the moon court!" ...what. How come that this mangled dog dared to speak like that to her?! She wasn't even worthy of breathing the same air as she did, and yet she hurled accusation at her like no tomorrow. (Interesting, some part of her didn't fail to note. So that was what Luna had told to all of her sniveling supporters, huh? That she had gone off in search of new lands, or something. Well, it certainly sounded more attractive than, say, admitting that her daughter was stuck in a hostage situation. ...was it wrong that Selene found a twisted sort of pleasure in that? In disgracing her in such a delightfully public way?)

"Watch your maw, mutt," she snarled. "You're worth less than the shit I accidentally stepped into yesterday, so don't think that I care for your opinion." Of course, nobody was really listening to her at that point-- duels had their rules, pointless as they seemed at times. That being said... the moon court also had its rules, didn't it? Such as, you know, that you shouldn't insult its only princess! Why should she play by the book when everyone else refused to? Monarchs should be able to bypass all those restrictions, dammit, not the other way around! Living a life of privilege wasn't as great as they'd advertised it, it turned out.

The wolf's energy signature flickered, meaning that she dodged Sol's attack, and... ah. The way that magical aura concentrated around it? Selene knew that attack, and knew the consequences, too. If Sol didn't dodge, then... Without really thinking about it, the moon princess's body moved on its own. Swiftly, she scooped the other in her arms, only to bury her head in the nape of her neck. "Don't you dare to move," Selene said, through gritted teeth. "And don't you dare to lose, either. Can you hear me, little sunbeam? Whatever happens," as if she didn't know that already, "you must fight on. Promise me that. Should you fail to do so, you will face my wrath." Her heart was pounding in her throat, in this wild, wild staccato, and before Selene could ask herself what the hell she was doing? Her back exploded, torn skin and waterfalls of blood and everything. (Yeah, not a pretty sight. Not unless you were one of those weirdos who found suffering ~artistic~, anyway.) A pained moan escaped from her mouth, through other than that? Other than that, her lips remained sealed, and her hands didn't change their position.

 

[starboob]

There must have been mold in that wine Sol had drunk earlier, because she really did not think she would be a twinge jealous over the implication that Luna has personally been involved with Selene's studies. Like, maybe if Helia did not avoid her daughter like the plague, Sol would be much further along in her studies and progression! But, nooooo, the queen mom has decided that she has more important queenly things to do than spend any time with her only heiress. (Okay, it's not like Sol actually likes spending time with her mom. The excitement over being invited to hang out has long since worn off, but it's still a huge bummer that her mom doesn't even seem to like her––even when she had given her studies an honest try! That only made her mom's four eyed gaze all the more searing and brutal. Hence giving up, because at least now there are no expectations and Sol can mostly get away with anything. The perks of being the family disappointment, she guesses. Yeah, so maybe it's not quite jealousy over Selene seeming to have more koala-tea time with her mom, but that Luna even puts in the effort. Her own mom certainly doesn't. Ugh, why is she even spending the brain energy on this? Right, because she doesn't want to think about her first ever epic duel!!)

Anyway, back to the duel...

Sol thinks it's a little rude that the wolfie dodged her attack. She knows that one generally doesn't enter fights with the want to get hurt and dodging is ““logical,”” but she tried real hard with her attack and she really thought it was going to work! As it would turn out, her reaction time still isn't up to snuff. Not that that is particularly surprising since she's never practiced her DPS skills. Nah, the sunbeam regards herself as a healer more than anything else and this duel is like when it's somehow up to the healer to win the battle because your tank sucked and your DPS could only do so much DPS-ing before getting K.O.'d. (Though Sol doesn't really know why she knows about tanks, DPS, and healer classes. Those are not the terms that are typically used by the Sun court. Hmm, probably just another brain glitch.)

Okay, okay, okay. Sol needs to think fast if she plans on living to see tomorrow––and she very much does, thank you! It's just a matter of figuring out which way to move her feet or which plants she should summon, but her brains seems frozen as she just stares at her opponent like a Sol caught in headlights. Now she really, really, really, wishes she knew a thing or two about fire or light magic––but all she knows is her plants and healing. She has been working on a new trick with her plant stuff, but she isn't exactly sure if it's going to help her in this situation. 'Alright, just focus on the––' Hey, why is Selene getting so close to her? Is she going to help her out? Is that even allowed?

Tbh Sol half expects Selene to slice her with her claws––after all, the werewolves are from the moon court and it's entirely possible that they are going to team up. Then again, the wolfie didn't seem to recognize Selene earlier so that's probably unlikely. At least she doesn't have to wonder for much longer why Selene is running towards her instead of snickering on the sidelines like everyone else, because soon she's wrapped in her rival's arms. Sol cannot help the way her heart skips several beats for unknown reasons. ‘Ahh, she smells so nice!!!’ "Is this a strangling technique?" If so, it's not very effective because it feels very warm and reassuring. She'd have more to say, except Selene is talking and she's honestly having trouble processing what the moon princess is saying to her. "Of course I'm going to win, I'm Sol. I don't know how, but I gotta do it and I’m gonna," she promises, again, not sure why Selene is talking like she's about to die. "Are you just here to hype me up? That's actually sort of sweeee––" at that moment, the little sunbeam erupts into screams as her friend basically explodes taking on the full impact of the attack.

Blood sprays all over Sol, getting into her eyes and mouth, but she hardly lets herself process any of that. She grabs onto Selene and pulls away from her rival, surprised that the other princess barely made a sound as her back was essentially obliterated into the next life. She grabs the other's face in her hands, searching her (sewn) eyes, her own welling with tears while her heartbeat feels like it's trying to frigging strangle her. All she can say to express her concern is, "You idiot. You frigging idiot––"

"How dare you!" the werewolf shouts, "Interfering with a duel is against regulation!"

"Oh, you so should not have reminded me that you exist," Sol huffs, sounding entirely unlike herself––perhaps because anger begins to touch her tone as she feels her blood come to a boil inside of her. "You hurt Selene and now you're going to pay for that!" because no one, freaking no one, gets to hurt Selene. Yeah, she's a major killjoy, definitely one of the most maladjusted people that Sol has ever met, and recently she has not been on Sol's 'cool people' list. But this? She doesn't know what it is about seeing Selene exploded that riles her up so much. Like, yeah, even with their weird and not-great relationship, Sol would have been concerned, but whatever is coming up within her now is so beyond what is appropriate. It’s overwhelming and it demands release "No, one touches my Selene and freaking gets away with it!" she cries, snapping her eyes back to her enemy until the werewolf is all that she can see. Brilliant flames, orange, yellow, and red, consume Sol’s arms. She doesn't have it in her to be worried about what's going to happen. She doesn't have it in her to remind herself to be scared of what fire can do. Payback is the only thing on her mind. Instinctively, she points her hands towards the werewolf and a hose of fire emits from her arms.

She has the wolf running from her and wherever she goes, Sol’s flames follow. The little sunbeam doesn’t even fully realize she’s now the one destroying the town.

 

[Syntra]

Ah, yes, as charming as ever. Who wouldn’t love to hear their intelligence insulted after taking a blow for the said insulter, right? Honestly, Selene had always thought that, if nothing else, Sol had a certain charm to her-- the charm of a helpless puppy, to be sure, but a charm nonetheless. Blah blah blah, the beauty of innocence, blah blah blah, the appeal of spontaneity. Not something that she would fall for, duh, but as for braindead subjects? Those ate it up, hook, line, and sinker. So why, pray tell, was she compromising one of her only strengths? Because her acting like that was not cute, in case you were interested in Selene’s perspective. (People didn’t generally tend to be, but stranger things had happened, hadn’t they? Like, say, blood raining from the skies, or Luna forgetting that she was supposed to have no heart from time to time.) “Excuse me,” the moon princess spat out, her voice shaking, “but the risk I took was calculated. It isn’t my fault that I can’t do maths.” And, indeed, it literally wasn’t! It had been Luna who was like ‘no daughter of mine will study human arts’ and ‘a goddess doesn’t have to understand the laws that she can break with a single thought.’ The logic had seemed sound back then, but in hindsight? In hindsight, Selene decided that maybe anti-intellectualism wasn’t valid. (Again, why had she bothered? Helia may have given her the title of Sol’s bodyguard, but that did not make it so-- the sun heiress was still her enemy, and thus someone to be destroyed. A blemish on the face of this universe, really. Selene knew this, of course that she did, so why oh why had she reacted as she had? Why had her body moved on its own, completely unprompted? Why, why, and thousand times why? Thankfully for the moon princess, however, the werewolf provided… hmm, a distraction. Another target to focus her fury on.)

“You think so?” she smirked through the pain. “Do you know what’s also against the law, though? Being a disgusting, smelly eyesore such as yourself. Besides, have you no honor? In choosing your opponent, you’ve proved that you can only snatch the low-hanging fruit-- that you are only capable of kicking corpses, already dead and beaten. A true warrior would have picked a foe that could go toe to toe with her, so that she could demonstrate her own strength! You, though? You are a wolf in name only. Deep inside, you are a vulture, my friend.” Well, that ought to do it. Wolves were not only ridiculously territorial, but also easily wounded-- you had to walk on eggshells around them, elsewise everything was deemed as an insult to their “””pride”””. (Not that there was much to be proud of, but perhaps they had had to brainwash themselves into believing the opposite? Existing as they did, as mere beasts driven wild with bloodlust, must have been a terrible enough fate on its own. Now imagine that there would be no meaning at all to this, too! No, it was little wonder that they’d convinced themselves of their own importance, regardless of all the evidence to contrary.)

“What are you saying, fake?” the wolf shouted. “She’s the leader. Challenging her was the only real option here-- if you think that the sun leadership is stupid, take it up with them. I am only doing what the Esteemed Radiance asked us to do.” Luna, huh? The confirmation couldn’t exactly be called official, or explicit, even, though it was still more than enough for Selene. Mother, mother, what is your game here? Breaching the peace was a favorite pastime of her, indeed, but usually, she at least tried to make it look less obvious than that. Had the conditions changed this much, hmm? And why? The covenant was supposed to be binding. How can you throw it away like that? Promises, promises older than the stardust, and yet, yet...

...ah. To say that Selene was surprised was an understatement, really. The energy that was radiating off of Sol? For the first time since she had met the other woman, she resembled Helia, in all of her glory. (The kind of sun that hurt, instead of nurtured. Fires, red hot and merciless, seeping under her skin. Where had that anger come from? Sol had always seemed... well, about as dangerous as a warm summer day, or a bucket of ice-cream. Knowing that she must have been the source of the chaos was so, so jarring! And also, as she privately had to admit, attractive. What, didn't you know that murder always made everyone infinitely hotter? No? Well, then maybe you should educate yourself.)

The wolf caught on fire, yes, and her wails filled the air-- drawn out and pathetic, like a funeral song. Ah, indeed, such music to her ears! Her own back almost ceased hurting, and for a moment, everything was right with the world. Well, at least until...

"Stop, please," a child sobbed, hugging Sol's leg from behind. Selene couldn't see her, but judging from the pain in her voice? Yeah, she would have been surprised if the kid's face hadn't been melted. "The village... can't you see? I thought you were supposed to help! Why are you like this? Why, why, why? You're all the same, I swear!"

 

[starboob]

"Run all you want, pipsqueak! My flames will catch up with you," the sunbeam shouts, some crazed smile splitting her face in two. She still isn't concerned about the consequences of her actions. Still, her mind is on a warpath towards destruction for what that spell did to Selene! Besides, wielding so much raw power at once is exhilarating, to contain the experience to a single word. It almost seems as though making her enemy run is a mere bonus, because watching the flames conquer new territory with their dazzling colors? It's enough for Sol to hose down innocent buildings just so that she can see more of her brilliance. The flames even beg her to let them consume the village. ('Yes, yes, yes!' they scream, 'More, feed us more!') In fact, they feel starved and voracious and who is Sol to deny the whim of her powers? Fire, she realizes, is as much her child as her plants. As she feeds her plants her sunlight, why should she also not feed the flame? Come to think of it, why had she even been afraid of this side of her before? It's awesome. By just pointing her hands, she can make the ugly wolf run for her dear life (as she should for hurting Selene like that). She'll have to apologize for hating this side of herself so passionately, because what's not to love?

The screams in the background? The ones of children and mothers? Sol doesn't hear those over the crackling houses lit aflame or the wolf's howling once she finally lights up her tail. For the Sun princess, all that exists are her and her enemy. (It doesn't occur to her to even think about why she's so angry about this. Why she's losing control over Selene, of all people, getting hurt. If she were to stop and think, she would realize how out of proportion her reaction is and how little sense this makes.) It's so frigging satisfying, too, watching the wolf burn. As the beast yelps in pain, Sol approaches her burning victim. "Not so tough now are you, punk?" she laughs, "Maybe next time you'll think two or three times before hurting Selene!"

"S-stop calling her that! She's an imposter and it––ouch!––isn't my fault she stood in my way. You were meant to be the one turned inside out," the wolf cries, lying curled on the ground while fire melts away her skin. (Ordinarily, Sol would be disgusted and sick by such a sight. Currently, she finds it fascinating that skin can bubble like that.) "You have proven your point! You have made me scream, now cease! You have won and I yield, daughter of my enemy."

"Hmm," Sol taps her chin, "I dunno. You don––"

When the little village girl clasps onto Sol's legs from behind and pleas with her princess and future goddess, reality comes crashing down on Sol like waves made of glass. Her eyes widen as she looks up and, for the first time, realizes what she has done. The burning homes, the crying children and mothers, the smell of ash so heavy in the air she could choke on it if she were required to breathe. "I––" she starts, whipping her head this way and that, finally landing on the child, "I-I didn't mean to do this? I," 'became my mom,' "...It was an accident, I swear!" Her eyes start to mist and even if she knows that she should not be the one who is sobbing, she can't really help herself. (This is why she avoids wielding her fire. The awesome power is just far too much for her and she always knew it'd lead to her losing control! She's seen her mom and the fire signs drunk on this before and, and...) "I'm sorry," she swallows hard, "I'll fix this, I swear. I will. I-I can heal you and everyone else––"

"No," the girl cries, her spirit not crushed even if her home is, "you can't fix this. You can't! You can't! You've wiped my village clean off the map and you can't heal that, princess!"

The flames aren't dying down as the accusations––the truth––are hurled towards Sol. She may be out of her fit, but the fire is still connected to her and is now feeding off her despair. If anything, that seems to be more fuel as the flames rise to new heights and she doesn't exactly know how to make any of this stop. Even the warriors she that had come along with her are stunned into stillness. "N-no, this is the werewolf's fault," she points towards the burnt whimpering thing, "she started it! I had to do it," 'to save the village,' she'd say but that's not exactly what ended up happening, now is it? She scratches her head trying to think of more and more excuses, but she knows this is her fault. Hers and hers alone. The weight of that causes her to shake and her lower lip to tremble as she realizes what she has done. She knows this is not a time for her to feel all sorry for herself, because she did the hurting, but she can't help the impending breakdown. (Wow, she really wishes she didn't feel so utterly alone.) "Selene," she whispers, not knowing why she's reaching out to the person who probably hates her guts for just existing, "What do I do? H-how do I make this better?"

 

[Syntra]

In one word? Wow. Selene had never thought that Sol had it in her-- that she, too, was capable of greatness. Her bloodline suggested it, of course, but when the hints and promises materialized into reality? A shiver ran down her spine, not quite painful and not quite pleasant. It existed in this… strange, liminal place in between? (A boundary as ephemeral as a dream, and yet as sharp as the edge of a knife. A curious thing, really. Too bad that Selene couldn’t see for herself! Her other senses did deliver, yes, but… well, let’s say that smelling the stench of burnt meat wasn’t quite as impactful as savoring the sight. Perhaps that is why Helia is still wasting her time with her? In a way, the moon princess supposed, it was a good strategy—to hide behind that sweet, sweet innocence that made you lovable in the eyes of fools, and then prove to them that roses always had their thorns. It was a strategy that she personally didn’t like, though what did that matter? There were numerous paths to the same goal, and it was up to you which one you ended up choosing. Selene, for example, preferred to keep her dignity intact.)

That, however, means that she deserves my respect. An odd thought, indeed-- almost as odd as those absurd beliefs that everyone deserved respect, for no other reason than that they were living, breathing people. (Pfft! Why did so many act as if being born was a notable accomplishment? Selene had thought about it long and hard, and come to the conclusion that the ones who preached such gospel had simply never accomplished anything greater than that themselves. A sad explanation, but most likely one that also held water.) Does that mean that she… that she managed to deceive me? If so, then the girl was a far, far more formidable opponent that what Selene had given her credit for. What a bitter pill to swallow! Sol being the queen of destruction… well, that had to be the greatest plot twist of the century, but its validity couldn’t be denied. Not now, with the death screams filling her ears, and the fire claiming lives left and right, and… and, strangely enough, the moon princess found herself cheering for her. Yes, murder the furry asshole! An impostor, pfft. She wouldn’t know a real princess if she smacked her in her ugly maw, which almost happened, by the way, so this is exactly what she deserves. (And no, it didn’t bother her at all that Luna didn’t consider it necessary to, you know, send out a search party or something. That would have been like expecting chocolate to rain from the clouds, you know? Which, you could only blame yourself for your shattered dreams, if you went in with such ridiculous expectations.)

…wait, what? Were her ears deceiving her, or did Sol seem surprised? If so, then Selene needed a moment or two, because she did not understand how that was even possible. Is there a parasite in her brain that is controlling her behavior, or what? Because honestly, such a level of obliviousness was simply unparalleled. As in, how did it work? Had she temporarily forgotten that a) fire was good at destroying things, b) aiming fire-adjacent energy in the general direction of flammable material would result in an inferno, c) people were flammable? From the very beginning, she had had her doubts about the sun princess’s cognitive abilities, but this certainly took the cake. What’s next? The grand revelation that water is, indeed, wet? Judging by her track record so far, that wouldn’t at all come off as a surprise! …and now, now she had the audacity to ask how to make things better. (Why had she fallen for her tricks, again? Of course that Sol had been incompetent all this time! Incompetence was basically her second name, along with ‘Dumbass’ and ‘Miss Naïve.’ If anything, her reaction only cemented it. ‘Boo hoo, I made a mistake! Now, how do I foist the responsibility on someone else?’ Disgusting, truly. Oh no, no, no, she won’t get her answers from me. That much I can swear.)

“Sol,” Selene sighed, “why would you try to change this? It’s one of the few good decisions that you’ve ever made, as far as I am concerned. I mean, the villagers invited the werewolves with their weakness. It was a mistake to even come, if I am to be honest. How will they learn to protect themselves if their princess comes to the rescue every time something like this happens, hmm? Will you also wrap their skinned knees in bandages? That is an unworthy way to live, Sol. A way of a servant, not one of the queen. Like this, they will at least learn that there are consequences to their stupidity. Now, can we go already? I admit, this drama is rather boring to me. Let the survivors rebuild what was destroyed, and the wheel of life will keep turning on.” Because, duh, subjects existed to serve them, not vice versa! Everyone who thought differently should most likely be medicated.

 

[starboob]

How did this even happen? Why? Sol is so careful––so freaking careful––about losing control. In fact, she's never lost control before! There have been some close calls, sure, like when her mom killed her baby calf because, "She was perfect for the veal, darling. Eat. Enjoy her sacrifice and don't let it go to waste." But even back then she knew that giving over to her feelings would be Bad News. Like, TMZ bad or something.

Oceans of regret fill up the sunbeam until she's quite certain that she'll drown. It's hard for her to focus on anything. All she wants to focus on are the flames that continue to eat up the village and villagers. 'I did this. I'm just freaking like her,' she thinks, balling her hands into fists so tight that her blunt nails start to dig into her palms. Tears sting her eyes and while Sol doesn't mind crying in front of others or at all, she does fight back these tears. 'How am I going to make this better?' Because asking Selene for advice? That had been the definition of desperate. Yeah, she definitely hoped that Selene would surprise her since she has had some surprising reactions before, but she realizes, bitterly, that the moonie pants isn't full of surprises. She just has personality malfunctions every now and again. If Sol is stuck with her, she's going to have to remember this so that she doesn't project some fantasy version of Selene that she wishes were real. (Admittedly, a small part of her does believe soft!Selene exists and is desperate to unearth her. That part of herself is going to bring her a world of pain if she lets it flourish.) "One of the few good decision I've ever made?" she says in complete disbelief, "Noah fence, but that was easily my worst mistake ever! Taking the place of, hmm, I dunno, murdering my childhood group of friends and not fessing up to their moms so they became an angry fire demon!" The flames around her rise as she becomes more heated by the unhelpful comment. "Shoot," she mutters, closing her eyes and trying to control her breathing. 'Calm down. Calm down. Deep, deep breaths. Remember those calming .gifs you used to save onto your phone,' whatever those are/that is, 'Think of those.'

Of course, the very loud screaming in the background? Of werewolves and villagers alike? That makes it hard for her to find her calm and she's worried that she never will. She opens her eyes again and groans, running her fingers through her hair. "For your own sake, Selene, I hope you grow up and get over your superiority complex." Though, to be fair, it's not like Selene's ideas of what it means to be a queen are much different from her own mom's ideas. It sucks that her forced companion has the same sort of rot in her bones. "We're not leaving," she decides. "Well, I'm not. Leave if you want. I'm going to help, because that's that kind of queen I want to be." Well, she'd also like to be the kind of queen who doesn't burn down one of her own villages buuuut that ship sort of launched itself into space.

She turns to one of the soldiers and orders, "Help me put out the fires and find survivors. We'll need to set up a medic tent so that I can heal people... I'm going to try and raise some houses, too." Though before the soldier can reply and before Sol can do much else?

A flash of flame appears and none other than the queen herself arrives, a wide grin on her face. If Sol weren’t so suspicious of her mom, she’d almost say she looks... proud??? (Red alert! Red freaking alert!!!)

“My darling!” Helia practically sings, gathering the sunbeam into her arms (omg is Sol about to be m-worded?) “My precious daughter! What a marvelous, marvelous display of your power. Not only have you brought down those filthy abominations, you have finally tapped into your fire. This is deserving of celebration. A feast, in your honor for your great accomplishment today.”

“Wha—? But I—“

“Worry not about the village, darling. It was hardly important to our operations—a weak little thing on life support, but I knew it’s peril might encourage your growth since you care so much about these silly little things,” she chuckles and it somehow sounds like a threat. The queen then sets her four-eyed gaze on Selene, “Selene your loyalties to my court have not gone unnoticed. I am sure it was very, very difficult seeing your kin,” she smirks at her own jab, “burned—and that you even saved my precious Sol? For that, I shall reward you. You may attend tonight’s celebration and dine with the servants at their table. You shall also be in charge of preparing my daughter for the event and making sure she doesn’t sneak off at any point. Is that clear?”

 

[Syntra]

…were her ears deceiving her? They must have, really, for not even Sol could possibly be this daft. “Grow up?” Selene repeated, her voice colored by disbelief. “I am not the one who thinks the world is all rainbows and unicorns, princess. Can you not understand that this is for the best?” When an organism was too weak to survive on its own, after all, it was merciful to end its misery-- a clean decapitation was still better than torture, drawn out beyond all reason. Sure, sure, the sun heiress probably wanted to save them all, but honestly? She was their queen, not their mother. What was the point in babying them, hmm? In lying to them, and drowning them in those false promises? Oh no, no, no. As far as Selene was concerned, letting them die here was the better option, for everyone involved. (What were these people, if not bags of blood to spill? Victims, branded since their birth? And sacrifices… well, sacrifices existed to be given to goddesses, since time immemorial.) “What you’re trying to do here,” she explained, her hands resting on her hips, “is a travesty. Fate has branded them with their sigil, so it has come for them. You only served as its catalyst. Can you not see the value in that?” But, no, of course that she couldn’t! That wasn’t cool or fun or rebellious enough, or whatever gimmick it was that Sol planned to build her personality around. (Since that was how it worked, right? People didn’t actually have personalities-- like water, they simply assumed the shape that was most convenient for them at that moment. That was the way of things, and had always been.)

It could have been a beautiful teaching moment, but naturally, Helia had to spoil it. Ugh. How is the witch still alive? The answer, of course, was that nobody had managed to murder her just yet-- it seemed to Selene that she would have to do it, as usual. Whenever something needs to be done, the princess lamented in her thoughts, I can never rely on anyone but myself. How am I supposed to feel like a ruler when I have to act like the lowliest of maids? It wasn’t helping that Helia had literally appointed her as that brat’s bodyguard, too, and… Wait, what? No, no, no, this had to be a terrible dream! A dream or a hallucination, perhaps induced by a particularly potent poison that she’d been secretly fed at today’s breakfast. At least that would have made some sort of sense-- that she was actually lying in a dark cell, covered by pitiful tatters, and succumbing to mind-destroying toxins. And, honestly? That outcome would still be better than having to socialize with servants. Servants! How bad of an idea would it be, really, if I tried to rip her apart here and now? Something told her that it would be a death sentence, most likely, but… well, sometimes, that was the less painful alternative. (Alternative, pfft. A choice between her life and her honor was no choice at all, actually! A princess’s reputation was worth her own weight in gold, because if anyone found out the degradation she suffered there? It would be over. Nobody would ever respect her again, unless… Yes, unless. An idea flashed through her mind, bright like lightning against the night sky, and Selene? Selene had to smile.)

“Ah, thank you, my queen!” the moon princess beamed. “Never before have I dreamed of receiving such honors-- my humble self truly is awed by your mercy. Trust me, I shall not disappoint.” Oh no, that Selene indeed didn't plan to do! Only, the one that she didn't want to disappoint was herself, and not the fake queen wearing her bloody crown.

***

The celebration was pompous enough, Selene could tell. One didn't even need eyes to see that-- the energies were swirling, wild like dragonflies, and the moon princess? Oh, she wanted to barf. As if it made any sense at all, to gather here because of that stupid girl! The success she had won for the sun court was an accident, thank you very much, and so it didn't deserve an ounce of those accolades. Like, did nobody around here have a shred of dignity? Apparently not, Selene thought, but it's not like I can speak about such things, either.

"Have you seen princess Sol's bravery in battle?" one of the maids gasped. "It is said that she alone killed all the conquerors."

"Yes!" another voice joined her. "I heard that she rebuilt the whole village afterwards, too. It only took but a single spell."

"What's more, I heard that the village is now more beautiful than it used to be!" yet another airhead clapped, forcing Selene to sigh audibly. (Did the woman notice, though? No, of course not! All of her attention was consumed by Sol, to the point that everything else might as well have been background noise.) "Princess," she sighed, "please, tell us how you made everything better! What was it like, to swoop there like a big heroine and instantly fix everything?"

 

[starboob]

T-B-H a feast to end the 42nd worst day of Sol's life is not exactly the mood booster she needs considering just what everyone is celebrating. Usually, Sol adores attention. She loves the stuff. Some might even say the sunbeam can't get enough of it. She never shies away from the spotlight even when she's getting chewed out. However––how-freaking-ever––it's way totally different when the (negative) attention she's getting is because of MurderTM and people are CelebratingTM it as if it were a great accomplishment!! Some of the people who were murdered, after all, were completely innocent––they were her own citizens. (Even if she had only burned up all the wolfies, she probably still would have qualms about their deaths since she had meant to handle that situation diplomatically with their leader and their leader alone. That's the kind of queen she wants to be. One that doesn't massacre her own people accidentally and one that doesn't shed any blood at all. Or more blood than needed, but she has a heavy preference for no blood spilling.)

All in all, this celebration is like her guilt wearing crappy make-up and it makes her sick. So sick, in fact, that she hasn't eaten her weight in desserts or drank until her blood has turned to wine. It's just one awkward stirring her food around on her plate while people figuratively clap her on her back for her "grand" accomplishment. 'Can't we, like, talk about litcherally anything else?' she laments while planning her escape. If only people at the party were drunker because that would make this getaway loads easier. Maybe if she had the proper inspiration she could think of viable plan to GTFO. 'Hmm, maybe if I concentrate hard enough I can activate the acid that is still in my spine?' She does get her best ideas under the influence of psychedelics, after all. Except, activating the acid stuck in her spine doesn't work because of course it doesn't. (Sol suspected that Polaris had been lying to her when they said that acid stays in your spine for upwards of seven years anyway. Like, why would acid just hang out in spines? That doesn't make sense. It's not connected to the brain at all! Ugh, she should have known Polaris is yet another liar in her life.)

What's worse is that slipping away from her mom's table to take a break from all the buzz has resulted in the maids, who she usually quite enjoys, fawning over her! Why does no one understand that murder = bad = not good = Sol is the worst and does not deserve any celebrating whatsoever????????? (Also, wow the story has already gotten so frigging distorted thanks to the gossip mill. She sure as heck wishes her mom had let her restore the village! That version of events isn't so bad, but it's also so totally false and somehow them not realizing she's the worst goddess to ever exist in the history of ever makes this confrontation 69420x worse.)

"Um," she laughs, nervously as she poorly attempts to hide her discomfort. The maids must take it as her being bashful over her heroics, because they say nothing of it. "Well, the thing is..." 'none of that is true. It was a ba-da-da-da-da McFreaking accident,' is what she wants to say, but doesn't because when she looks up they all just look so... So proud of her? The maids are usually the nicest to her anyway, so it's not like they would have teased her for messing up like the guards or literally anyone else in the palace, but even she's heard them whispering about what will happen if the regular!Sol ascends the throne. They never sound particularly thrilled––they actually have always sounded worried over her competence which, yeah, frigging hurts. Now she imagines she's somewhat earned more votes of confidence or whatever. Kinda feels nice. "It was, uh, probs just beginner's luck or something," or perhaps her genetic predisposition for blinding rage? "And so I deffo wouldn't say that I'm a hero."

"Princess! How can you be so modest?"

"Yes, are you trying to keep us on the edge of our seat by withholding the tale of your heroism? We would just love to hear the story straight from the source," one maid says, clasping her hands together as she begs, "I want my daughters to know exactly how it happened."

'Oh, geez,' Sol thinks, cutting her gaze to look over at Selene and really, really wishing Selene could read her look and save her. (...Though why she thinks the moon daughter would ever do that is beyond herself, even. Sewn ojos or not, she probably would just make this worse. Like she always does, she reminds herself bitterly. Why did Sol even decide to come over to her table? Goddess, she really needs to straighten out her wonked out brain.) "Well, tbh," ("What does that one mean again?" "To be hasty, I believe.") "I sorta, uh, blacked out so I don't really remember how it went down. It was actually kind of terrifying, because I really did think I was going to get served my own butt for breakfast. And werewolves are pretty ugly and not at all how I imagined; that shock alone was really throwing me for a loop. So imagine my surprise when, um," 'everything ended up burned to a crisp including freaking children,' "it turned out I actually did something?" 'That's vague enough, me thinks. Now time for a little Ms. Direction.' She tosses an arm around Selene’s shoulder and grins at the maids, "But, really, I could not have done it without Selene. She saved my butt. Isn't that right, moon-rocks?"

 

[Syntra]

Generally, Selene was convinced that the entire world conspired against her. How not? That she had ended up here, in Helia's court out of all places, was all the evidence she needed for that-- it couldn't be the consequences of her own actions, oh no, no, no! Fate had marked her as its prey, so she was doomed to... to this, for the rest of her eternity. Sometimes, however? Sometimes it seemed that other entities, such as certain unidentified sun princesses, could also be the designated victims. Ah, I see what she's trying to do here. Trying to escape the responsibility, huh? Well, not on her watch, that much was certain. With her own hands, Sol had turned those weaklings' lives into ashes, and now she tried to wash it off-- to pretend it had never happened, even, and that she was as pure as snow. Snow doesn't belong to you, though. There's fire in your veins, and I won't let you forget that. Never, for as long as I breathe. "What is it that you are saying, my princess?" Selene tilted her head aside, playing the part of the confused bystander. "How can you even attribute so little worth to your actions? You were splendid. Breathtaking, even. Shall I describe to you how valiantly your princess fought, ladies?"

Selene couldn't see the maids, of course, but the butterflies in their stomachs flapped their wings so loudly she could practically hear them-- the excitement was palpable, really. "Oh, please, do tell us!" one of them exclaimed. "I'm sure that I cannot even imagine."

"Very true," her colleague agreed. "Our eyes cannot hope to perceive Her Highness Sol's radiance. Indeed, we are blind like worms in her presence. Will you share her deeds with us?"

Barely bothering to hide her smirk, Selene ran her hand through her hair. "The princess is just too humble for her own good, you see. It was a total bloodbath! She came, and with her, there was divine fire. Even with my eyes being what they are, I knew the sky was lit aflame. Ashes were raining instead of water, drowning those unworthy of the queen's light. The weaklings were screaming, screaming and screaming, but what did your princess do? Did she relent? Did she swallow their lies like a fish swallows tasty bait? No, my friends. She showed them what kind of fate awaits those who don't follow the queen's teachings-- those who cannot help themselves, and thus also others. Their pitiful village became their grave, much like it had become a grave to their ambitions whole years ago. Symbolic, don't you think? That's what your princess is like!" There, now Sol shouldn't be able to act as if she was better than her, with all her buzzwords about 'therapy' and 'not giving in to mindless rage.' (That, plus it was also pretty funny. So what? Selene deserved her fun occasionally, thank you very much.)

"Ah, I always knew that the princess was the coolest!" one of the maids swooned. "The queen must have been exaggerating about her, ah... lack of usefulness."

"For sure, for sure. I, for one, have never believed in it. There is no way for princess Sol to not be able to reach greatness-- she is destined to walk in her mother's footsteps, after all." Hah! That was a good one, Selene thought. Never thought they were going to help me with the psychological warfare, but here we go. Thank you, useless sacks of flesh!

"I wish I could be half as awesome as you," someone said. Someone who... hadn't spoken before, actually? The voice was unfamiliar and grating to her ears, much like sandpaper. (The woman must have been older than them, surely-- Selene could tell, for something about her reminded her of autumn leaves. Autumn leaves that were crumpled, perhaps, but also colored with experience, and all the richer for it. Also, was it her, or did dialect seem... well, more elevated than that of the other maids? Was she a maid, even? Her ears had picked up on something, that much was obvious, and Selene wasn't about to ignore that.)

"Please, accept this gift," the woman continued, her words flowing like a river. "You must. Don't you wish to honor your victims, after all? They died so you could become what you did, princess, and that isn't a petty thing. In a way, they are a part of you now. Doing right by them is a ruler's duty, don't you think?" Something rustled-- most likely wrapping paper, if you asked for Selene's opinion. Alright, what was up with that?

Soon enough, of course, that question answered itself. Once again, the air smelled of burning meat, of despair and crushed dreams, and... oookay, had the woman literally bound the spirits of the dead to some object? Because that was what it felt like.

"Bind yourself to them, princess," the stranger demanded, her voice like steel. "Don't you think you owe it to them? They only ever wished for you to be there for them, so do it. Now!"

 

[starboob]

Zoinks. It has already been long established that relying on Selene for literally anything is about the same as smearing butter on the bottom of your shoes and trying to carefully carry an armful of precious vases across a marble floor––super friggin' messy. Honestly, Sol would be annoyed if it weren't for the fact that she can't actually tell whether or not her companion is being genuine or not. A large part of her says that she's pulling this fake praise straight from her butt, and the other part of Sol can't freaking focus enough to figure out what it thinks. Each word that slips from Selene's stupid mouth is like a nail to her heart, pinning her backwards in time to the moment where everything turned red hot and all she knew was the brilliance of her lineage. (Smoke fills her nose, screams cram themselves into her ears, and even though she's trying to concentrate on the excitement of the maids all she can see are images of burned corpses.) Her arm drops from Selene's shoulder while her stomach decides to become a Cirque du Soleil trapeze artist (whatever that is) and her expression drops, leaving her looking as if she's seen a ghost. And in her eyes? She is staring directly at them––if only in her mind's eye, yet it feels so tangibly real that she cannot place herself back fully in reality. It's like she's got one foot jammed in the past and the other desperately trying to keep her in the present.

It goes without saying that the praise is all lost on her, or maybe not? It weighs on her shoulders as much as three whole worlds and their pantheons combined. She can feel her knees cracking under the pressure and she has the instinct to run, yet knows that is not an option. Not now, at least. (Perhaps later in the dead of night under the moonless sky, she'll run. Run before the dawn breaks and she can't be found. She'll go somewhere the Sun doesn't shine and hide. There, her mistakes won't be able to catch up with her or eat her alive, right? Right??) 'This has got to be some nightmare,' she thinks, pinching her side just to check, but when it turns out to be real, she wishes she could cry all over again. Ordinarily, she would––there's no shame in having emotions and displaying their full range, but something stops her from doing just that. Something within herself won't let the tears break free and she wonders if her mom put a spell on her or something, because she's never felt so numb before.

Unfortunately, or perhaps very fortunately, the sunbeam isn't able to investigate that further as the weird talker seems to materialize out of nowhere. She's old, Sol can tell as much from her choice of clothes and odd accent, but she doesn't have a wrinkle or gray hair to show for it––not that that is particularly surprising. Being amongst goddesses, that's to be expected but even her own mom doesn't sound so old. Her brow wrinkles together as she looks down at the "gift" in the woman's hand––not at all following what she is saying as the vivid images from before wash over her like waves all over again. (Geez, what is with people and, like, leaving things in the past? Letting stuff be and never touching it again? And why is the air suddenly so frigging suffocating??)

Instinctively, she shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest––though not in an obstinate way, more of a self-hugging way since no one here will hold her. Defensively, she responds, "You don't get to tell me what to do and I don't accept gifts from people who don't even introduce themselves. I-I don't think I saw your name on the guest list." Not that she has seen the list at all.

"Ah," the woman chuckles, her eyes shimmering like promises of gold in a stream, "You are wise as your mother, though perhaps not as keen. Have you really forgotten who I am, darling? I'll give you a hint: we used to pick cherries each summer––well, when cherry trees still bloomed in these land. Does this not ring any bells?"

And the weird thing? It does, though it isn't as though Sol can figure out why. The memory doesn't feel like hers at all and, to be Sol, she can't even conjure it at all but something about the woman just feels... familiar all of a sudden. "I..." she trails off, then not wanting to seem rude, hastily continues, "I guess, that does sound like something I would do, yeah. Or we'd do?"

"It's been so long and you were so young, I do not blame you for forgetting," she says, sweetly with a simper on her lips. She pushes the object once more to Sol, "Do take it, I made it myself for you to honor your first great act as leader of this realm."

"Uhh," Sol starts again, still wary but somewhat more trusting of this familiar stranger. She peaks over the wrapping to look at the gift that screams and promises agony thrice as bad as what she dealt to those villagers. The object, as far as she can tell, is some sort of... weapon? A hammer to be precise. (Were Sol not so caught up in this odd mystery, she most certainly would have made a, 'It's hammer time,' joke but it eludes her at the moment.) It appears to be made of blood and bone while smoke-like ash swirls around the ominous piece. Her eyes skirt towards Selene then, remembering that Selene is useless when it comes to being helpful, she looks towards the maids who are all leaning in to see just what the object is. They are also not helpful. 'Can't be too bad, right? Mom wouldn't let baddies into her palace,' she thinks, totally forgetting that Selene managed to slip into the palace once upon a time.

The instant that Sol touches the neck of the hammer the world erupts into screams. Earsplitting and glass shattering, though if anyone else in the room can hear them? They don't show it. No, the party seems to be carrying on as if nothing is happening and Sol is the only one affected. Her ears pop and soon blood starts leaking out of them. There's an overwhelming pressure in her head like a thousand souls are trying to split open her skull and escape, forcing her onto her knees and for some reason her fist is still tightly wrapped around the hammer. (She wants to let go, but something, maybe superglue she guesses, is keeping her hand fixed around the cursed object.) The world around her turns black and white, with only the odd woman remaining in color.

"Wh-what's happening?" Sol moans, to no one in particular.

"Is it not obvious?" the woman smiles, seeming more wolfish than Sol remembers... and also appearing to have more heads than she remembers, but maybe that has more to do with her dizziness than anything else. "You powers are being siphoned. No longer will you have to worry over being a goddess. I know how much you dread the role anyway. Resistance is a waste of your energy."

...​

Meanwhile, in the real world, Sol looks as though she's in a trance and honestly her expression is not much different than what she gives during her lectures––you know, eyes glazed over and such. The woman, somehow existing in both the world of black and white, where Sol is, and here at the party, smiles at Selene and the maids, "Oh, she ought to snap out of this soon! Binding one's soul does take the utmost concentration." As if Sol and concentrating can actually exist without the word 'not' coming between them. Ah, well, minor details! The woman seems pleased and it seem as though her own complexion is glowing in an eerily similar way to that of the sun princess. Must be a coincidence, surely nothing to fret over.