Sunbug wasn't.... entirely sure? What she was supposed to do now. She had kind of been unceremoniously handed her familiar amidst the crowd of the other nouls handed their familiars - there had been more than anticipated, she suspected - and there had been a quick blur of a speech about the sacredness of bonding. And now she was here.Alone in a clearing in the woods.
Staring at her familiar.
The familiar, for its part, stared back lazily and slowly reached up with its hind foot to scratch its ear. She had been informed that this was a Huli Jing, or a Three Tail, and that they had legends of power and mischief. But it mostly just looked like a small confused canine to her.
"What's...your name?" That seemed like an easy first question.
The Huli Jing blinked and tilted its head, still scratching at its ear. "You know, I dunno. I don't think I have one. What's yours?"
Oh. Maybe they weren't resurrected knowing who they were? "My name is Sunbug. What should I call you if you don't have a name?"
It finally put its leg down and hummed in thought. "Give me a name," it finally demanded.
Well, that was a tall order. She'd never named anything before. But it could be nice, right? If she was supposed to bond with this creature for life, she could give it a pleasant name she would always like. "Well are you male or female?"
It squinted and seemed to think on that question for a second. Was that a question that needed thought? Perhaps so, Sunbug thought. There were certainly other nouls whose identities changed throughout their lifetimes. "Male," he finally decided.
Sunbug clicked her tongue. She'd thought that would help, but it really didn't. At least she wouldn't choose a hyper-feminine name. She looked him over and tilted her head back and forth. For his part, the creature only watched her back with a slow, blank look. It didn't seem to feel awkward at all being examined by her or letting her make such an important decision for him. She couldn't really imagine letting a stranger pick her name, but maybe that was because she had never been resurrected.
The Huli Jing was mostly white, much like her. But instead of having sunny, warm spots of color, his appeared to be more mottled and cool-toned. It didn't totally lack warmth, it was just more diluted. Like the reflection of sunlight.
"Oh!" Sunbug exclaimed excitedly. "You're like the moon to my sun." The Huli Jing's eyes widened in confusion. Clearly he hadn't been anywhere near her thought process. "Your colors. Mine are warm and sunny, yours are cooler, like the reflection of the sun off the moon." That seemed to bring him up to speed and he nodded, accepting. "So what about.... Moonstruck?"
"I like it." He didn't even take time to consider it, just accepted the name immediately. That startled Sunbug.
"Are you sure? I can keep thinking."
"No. It's mine. I'm Moonstruck."
Sunbug balked a little at that. He didn't consider other options at all, just accepted the first name she through out. She was glad she had at least taken a little time of her own to consider before throwing out something ridiculous. Even if she was conflicted now, Moonstruck was a livable name.
"O-okay. Moonstruck it is. We're supposed to bond eventually, but maybe we should get to know each other first. Should we go do something and learn about each other?"
"What does it mean to bond?"
"Uhm," Sunbug considered that. It seemed pretty heavy to her, but how to explain it? "We'll be together forever, basically. We'll be able to feel each other's emotions and when we're far apart it will be painful. But we'll always be there to help each other." Moonstruck stood for the first time since they'd arrive to this patch of the forest. He circled around her a couple times, looking her up and down. Sunbug watched, nervous when he ended up in her blind spots. He stopped in front of her. "What do you do?"
"Do? Like my job? I'm a scout. I go out into the barrens and look for the next pieces of Vykeli we should bring back to life. I also sometimes find things and bring them back to Homewood. It can be dangerous."
For the first time, Moonstruck smiled. It was a wide, sly smile that rounded his cheeks and crinkled his eyes. "That sounds fun. Let's bond."
Sunbug let out a startled noise. "Bond? Already?"
"Yep. I'll stay with you forever and we'll explore. It will be dangerous and I'll help protect you, and you, me. It'll be fun."
Sunbug was completely out of her element. "Don't you think we should take some time to know if it's right?"
"No. You chose me, and I was given to you. I think we'll be okay. We can bond."
Sunbug didn't really know what to say to that. She'd never been faced with someone who was so totally confident in their split-second decisions. It made her nervous. But she also felt kind of special. This little creature had taken one or two looks at her and decided he was going to protect her. That felt special.
"O-okay. Lets bond then."
