Luna, the Shadow Elder
Astrid walked hand-in-hand with Soleil, down the road that led to the HQ. They'd been out all day adventuring. Astrid thought Soleil should learn more about Telrunya Isle, so she'd taken her for a walk, pointing out all of the sights. They were now stopped by the pond, and both bent down to get a drink of water, and then sat on the bank of the pond, looking out over the water.
"So, are you remembering the places we've gone?" Astrid asked, turning to Soleil.
The little Pae nodded vigorously, shifting from one side of her bottom to the other, rocking back and forth. "Yep! I think so at least. I know how to get home though!" She giggled, and managed to get a drink of water into her mouth before the last droplets on her hands slowly turned golden. Her powers were developing, and the angel Pae was slowly getting used to it. It was hard not touching things sometimes, but Soleil knew better. She didn't want her Pae friends and Astrid to turn into gold!
Luna fell asleep under a willow tree in the forest. The forest was her favorite place to be. Her grey eyes opened to the sun shining down on the ground. Morning was here and she wasn't up for it. Maybe five more minutes she thought.
With a wave of her hand, the shadow of the tree transformed into a blanket for her. Much better, she thought.
After a few minutes of rest, Astrid stood up, and gave a hand to Soleil. "Are you ready? I think it's time to check out the forest. Though it might be a bit dark," she warned, "It's definitely not scary." She nodded, and pulled Soleil into a standing position.
"I'm ready!" Soleil was an adventuresome type, and she loved to see new things...She was always ready for an adventure. The Pae was pulled to her feet, and she led Astrid down the path, eventually veering off to the right, and into the forest. As she went deeper into the woods, it started getting darker, but it was no more creepy than it had been earlier. Just...darker.
It was Astrid who first discovered the sleeping Elder, as she saw her out of the corner of her eye. "Astrid!" she half shouted-half whispered. "I think that's another Pae," she said, pointing to Luna, who was covered in a blanket of shadow.
Luna stirred a bit. She felt the earth vibrate from the sound of footsteps on the ground. Letting out a yawn, her eyes fluttered open to look around her. The first thing she could see was the pond where Flora slept as well. The Aion was incredibly shy and didn't converse with anyone but the elder. Hopefully that would change soon though.
Then she heard a little girl speak. Following the voice, her eyes landed upon two Pae's. A child and a Faery. She must have looked like a mess, rising to sit up, she raised her arms above her head and stretched her wings and tail. Much better. Rubbing her tired eyes, she let out another small yawn and chuckled.
"Hello." she called out.
Astrid watched in awe as the Elder stirred, then sat up. She smiled, glad to see that the Elder looked friendly. "Hello," she returned the greeting, and stepped forward to get closer to the Pae. "I'm Astrid. And this is Soleil."
Soleil was practically jumping up and down with giddyness. "Hi!" she exclaimed, running toward the Elder with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "Like she said, I'm Soleil! I can turn stuff gold!" Her newfound power made her proud...it was an accomplishment in her eyes. "Who're you?" she asked, a childish curiosity in her voice.
((Don't worry! I have another hour. XD))
Luna stretched one last time and could honestly say she was wide awake. She nodded to the Faery. "It's a pleasure to meet you Astrid. I'm sorry that you have to see me in this state." She brushed a tendril of grey hair from her face.
Luna's eyes followed the giddy child and her smile brightened. It was glorious to see children Pae. They just brightened her day. "Hi! You have a very pretty name. Gold? Anything? That's really amazing!" She said with enthusiasm.
With a wave of her hand, the shadow returned to its original place below the tree. Rising up to stand, she dusted her clothes, to make sure they were somewhat presentable.
At the child's question she smiled. "I'm Luna. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand to the little girl.
"It is definitely a pleasure to meet you Luna. I've never gotten the chance to meet an Elder before." She gave the woman a slight bow, out of respect. "You look wonderful, even if you just woke up," she commented with a shy smile. She giggled at Soleil, glad to see that the Elder had taken her enthusiasm well.
"Thanks! I like my name a lot too! I think it means "sun" or something like that. Astrid gave me my name, 'cause she found me when I was younger."
She paused, and looked up at the woman. "Yeah, pretty much anything...I'm not sure if I could make you gold though. I don't think I'd ever want to either," she said with a firm nod. "Nice to meet you too Luna," she said shaking the Elder's hand vigorously. Soleil was quite a bright ray of sunshine. "WOW! Your powers are SO COOL!"
Luna smiled at the Faery. "Us Elders aren't all we're cracked up to be. " She chuckled. She shook her head at the movement. "Oh please! You don't have to do that. I'm not better than you or you." She smiled to Soleil. "I'm just like you. And thank you." Her grey eyes scanned her wrinkled form. "I wish I could say the same." She laughed. God knew how her hair was at the moment.
Luna turned her attention to the little girl once again. "The sun? Well you are a burst of sunshine I must say." Her grey eyes looked to the Faery. "You found her? I admire your responsibility and maturity to take on such a task as to raise a child." She gave the Faery a slight bow. "Now that I respect." she smiled at the female.
The child quickly grabbed her attention again. "Anything? Well then, that's certainly a feat in itself. Gold people are just boring if that were to happen."She chuckled. So many questions and she had no problem answering each one. "Why thank you! But your's are very cool as well." She patted the childs head.
"Not all you've cracked up to be?" Astrid asked. "You did have to go on a quest, didn't you? Was it hard?" She blushed, still shy around the Elder. Luna had put her more at ease though, so she was opening up a bit. "I hope to become an Elder some day," she said, smiling. "I'm sure I've got a long way to go though."
She paused, taking a look at Luna's dress. "Well, it's a bit wrinkled, but that's nothing a little gravity can't fix. Hold on one second." Astrid focused on the dress, using her powers to have gravity weigh more heavily upon the fabric, the hems of the dress drooping, stretching the wrinkles out of the fabric. "There," she said, letting the gravitational pull return to normal. "All better!"
When she brought up Soleil's adoption, she just nodded. "Yes, I certainly couldn't leave her sitting outside for anything to come and get her. She's been a real treat to have around--she's the daughter I wasn't quite ready to have." She laughed, remembering the day she found Soleil. "Thanks," she said modestly. "I'm glad to have your respect."
"A burst of sunshine is right!" Astrid exclaimed, spinning around, causing herself to look like a streak of golden light. After a minute, she heard Luna ask a question, and she stopped rapidly, the world still spinning around her. Falling to the ground laughing, Astrid looked up to the Elder. "Yep, just about anything!" she said, touching a blade of grass, and watching as gold slowly crept down to the root of the blade.
Luna bit her bottom lip in a shy manner. "Well... Yeah, I did have to go on a quest, but I mean the whole 'Elder is holier than tho' bit" She pffted the idea. " isn't what people make it to be." She tried to explain. But she confused herself now. She shook her head at her own explanation. "If that makes any sense." She smiled. Laying a hand upon the Astrid's shoulder, she nodded. "I'm sure you'll be one soon. I guarantee it. Just live for the now and enjoy being who you are. It's no fun fretting about getting older." She said jokingly.
Luna watched in amazement as the female helped take the wrinkles out of her dress using her powers. "Now that's a handy power. You won't have to spend any more money on ironing." She chuckled.
Luna listened about Soleil's adoption. "It's definately a nice surprise to say the least. Who wouldn't be?" Her eyes looked at the little bundle of energy.
Her grey eyes watched the blade of grass turn into gold before her. "Your power reminds me of a Greek myth. You ever heard of Midas?" She asked the little one.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Astrid said, nodding. "No need to put you on a pedstal, right? I just wasn't sure what an Elder would be like...and you're more than friendly, so there was nothing for me to worry about, was there?"
She nodded at Luna's words of advice. "That's true. Things were different when I was a kid like Soleil. Life was much more exciting it seemed." She laughed as she watched Soleil spin around, and plop down on the ground out of dizziness. "She was a nice surprise. I was getting lonely in that cottage all by myself. She's always up to do things, and she keeps me on my toes," Astrid remarked, nodding.
"Yeah, my power is quite handy," she said. "I can do all kinds of things with it...It's amazing how many things are controlled by gravity."
Once Soleil recovered, she looked expectantly up to Luna. "Midas?" she asked, curious. Astrid hadn't told her anything about Midas..."Who was he? Did he have my power?"
Luna chuckled. "Don't worry. I get that comment a lot. It just feels weird to have people bow to you every time they see you." She admitted. "There is definately nothing to worry about." she smiled.
"Children are definately a gift. I wish I had the chance to have kids when I was younger, but there were much more important things to deal with." She nodded in conclusion.
"I can only imagine what you can do with that power. Gravity is pretty much everywhere. That must take a lot of responsibility which I'm sure you have." She complimented. Astrid was an incredibly sweet Pae and the first of the Faery Pae's to meet.
Luna looked down to the little girl and smiled. "Well, A long time ago, there was king who was named Midas. One day the king did a very nice thing for someone and a god saw this act. So the god, whose name was Dionysus, granted him one wish. The kings wish was that when he touched something, it would turn into gold. Well, you would think that would be a great wish, right?
Well, soon the king started to touch everything he could. Flowers turned into gold, patches of grass, anything. But he had no control over his new gift. So, when he tried to eat, the food turned into gold. He couldn't eat. When he drank water, as soon as the liquid touched his lips, it turned into gold. He couldn't drink. Well, the king grew sad and asked for his daughter. As soon as he touched her, his precious child turned into gold.
Midas was heartbroken and didn't want his gift anymore. He begged and pleaded to Dionysus until finally the god came and took pity on him. So, he took away his gift, but he would be poor. But Midas realized it was better to have his family, friends, and be able to live then to be rich.
There's many versions of the story, but that one's my favorite." She smiled at Soleil. "What did you think?"
Astrid nodded. Next time she saw Luna, she'd be sure to greet her as she did everyone else. After all, Astrid would want to be treated normally if she were an elder. "Well, you can't have children now?" she asked. "Maybe you could adopt? I'm sure there are Pae out there who need adoption."
She blushed at the compliments from the Elder. This was one of the few Pae that Astrid had really talked to besides Soleil, and she seemed like a nice Pae. "Thanks, you flatter me," Astrid said, waving her off, her face turning a darker shade of blue. "I think my power is pretty special though. I haven't met another Pae with my power...but then again, I haven't met many other Pae. I'm kind of a homebody."
Soleil sat and listened to the story with rapt attention. She thought of how horrifying it would be to have everything you touch turn to gold. Her eyes looked a bit afraid just thinking about the possibility. Looking up at Luna, she gave the Elder her most determined look. "I'm going to learn how to control my powers so that I don't turn my family and friends into gold! Just when I want to, of course," she said, smiling sweetly. She giggled a bit. "I'm only joking!"
Luna contemplated about it. " I actually have Flora. She's an Aion, but she doesn't like strangers much. She's very much a loner, like I was. But thankfully, I grew out of that state. Hopefully she will too. But adopting isn't too bad. Maybe some day." Her grey eyes looked towards the pond where the Aion lived. A few bubbled popped along the surface.
Luna watched the blushing Faery with amusement. "I know what you mean. I actually tend to keep to myself. But it is nice to meet others." She smiled.
Her grey eyes looked to Soleil, thoroughly enjoyed that she liked the story. "That's why its really important to control such a gift. Because if you can't, bad things can happen. And i'm sure you won't let that happen." She playfully tapped her nose.
"An Aion?" Astrid asked. "I've only heard of them...Never met one though. It sounds like you've got a good relationship with Flora though. Maybe you can help bring her out of her shell a bit. And if she ever wants to meet more Pae, well, I'd be happy to meet her." She smiled at Luna, nodding. Astrid could use more friends too. "It is nice to meet others. I've had a hankering to make some new friends recently, and look at this, I just wandered into the forest, and found a new friend!"
Soleil nodded vehemently. "Yes, I don't want to hurt anyone, so learning to take full control over my powers will be good. I can only turn small stuff to gold now, so I hope that touching other Pae doesn't hurt them. I'm going to try realllly hard to learn to control it." She looked down at her hands, blessed with the Midas Touch, and sighed. Were they really more a burden than a bonus? "Is it a bad power to get Elder Luna?" she asked, looking up at Luna once again.
Luna nodded to the Faery. "Hopefully she'll step out of her shell. One just has to have patience." She smiled. "I'm sure she would love to have friends like you." She complimented.
Luna smiled to the little Pae. "Powers are only bad if you make them to be. And I'm sure you won't use it in a wrong way." She laid her hand on the girls shoulder. "Don't worry Soleil. I have upmost confidence in you." Luna commented to the child.
