Arutemisu was shocked into a frozen state.
All of his searching. All of his stopping and asking strangers if they'd seen anyone from his kingdom. All of his absently glancing into the foreheads of those he saw in passing. The hoping, the wishing, the dreaming, it had lead him to this very moment. He could barely believe his own eyes. There standing before him was Luna. Her name was Lunaria, but he'd always called her Luna. Arutemisu had grown up with her in his old home, she was unmistakable. He could distantly remember running around playing with her as a young cub in the beautiful fields of the Silver Moon Pride.
Looking at her though, Aru could tell that the destruction of their home and time had done its damage to her. Gone were bright sparkling eyes that had been full of hope and life. They were now replaced with fear, pain, and the basic need to survive. Even though he could easily recognize her, it was clear that she had transformed into a completely different creature. His heart sank for her and the terrible state that she was in. However, it was clear that she was not in her right frame of mind, so he stayed on guard but still tried to speak with her.
"Hey, Luna," he began cautiously, "I, I can't believe its you."
The dark lioness had been having a particularly difficult time as of late. With no memory of her past or who she was or even of her name, she lived in a suspended state of loss and confusion. The only thing that she knew to do was survive somehow. She was having a harder and harder time finding food that was bigger than the lizards that scurried across the forest floor to sustain herself. She was becoming hungrier as the days went by.
One day, she wandered away from the jungle that she occupied in an attempt to hunt larger prey in her desperation. Almost immediately upon stepping foot away from her sanctuary she was attacked by a band of males looking to kidnap her and take her prisoner. She had barely managed to escape from them, fighting tooth and claw for her freedom. She had never been so afraid for her life and safety as she had been in that moment. She'd slipped back into the deep jungle as quickly as she possibly could and had never tried to leave again fearful of a second attack. In her weakened state, she knew that she wouldn't be able to fight her way free from another group like that. So, she lived the best that she could hidden in the trees and the brush eating what she could find and catch.
Today however, she didn't even need to venture away from her hiding place, someone had found her just where she was. She'd heard him way before she saw him and she had immediately become rigid with fear and trepidation. When the solid white male came into view, he was already approaching her position and she became overwhelmed with a sense of danger. She knew that the only option she had was to defend herself, so that's what she did. The lioness knew that she would at least have the momentary advantage of surprise over the intruder if she attacked first. When she launched her defensive assault however, she was shocked into stillness when he called her that name.
That name was one of the few memories that she'd held onto. That name that she knew must belong to her but that she did not associate with herself. It was one of the few things that she had that connected her to a blurry past. When she finally looked at the male, really looked at him, the first thing that struck her was the crescent moon marking that rested innocently on his forehead. It was the same mark that she saw on herself whenever she happened upon her reflection when drinking from pools of water. The second thing that struck her were the brilliant emerald eyes that stared widely back at her.
A strange and horrifying sense of familiarity crept upon her heart followed by the shadow of an enormous pain that she had diligently pushed away from her very being. A pain that she had pushed away so well that she had completely forgotten about it in her conscious mind. The lioness knew in a very deep place that this male would bring that pain back to her. Her first instinct was to run far away from the lion and find a way to return to her hard but blissfully ignorant existence. Though when he spoke to her, she found herself rooted in place and unable to move a muscle. She hated that he was so familiar, but she couldn't help but respond to him.
"W-who are you? How do you know that name?"
Aru nearly jumped when she spoke to him. He was surprised by both the sound of her voice and what she actually said. How could she say that, did she not recognize him? It had been quite a while, but it hadn't been long enough since the collapse of their home for her to really not remember him. They had known each other throughout their lives, it wasn't as though they had only been acquainted. Her voice sounded completely different than what Aru remembered and it evenly matched her new state of being. It was low, drawn, and troubled instead of the lively bright sound that she used to ring out to the world.
He was beginning to believe that something had gone very wrong with her mental state of being. Aru had not seen Luna during the destruction, hadn't seen her for a few days before it all happened. He couldn't help but wonder what she had seen and gone through during that time. He could only imagine what the attack had done to her heart. Still, despite her failing state, he could feel the happiness and excitement that was growing in his chest. Aru had finally found someone from his homeland and it was Luna!
"Luna, its me, Arutemisu. I have been looking for you for a very long time."
