[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/MEEvh6i.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][sub][b]Location:[/b] Seluna Temple[/sub] [hr][hr] How long had it been? Ten minutes? Fifteen? No… Twenty? Kira blinked, tearing her eyes down from the night sky. She lifted her hands from the water, examining the gouges she’d carved into her own palms on the walk to the temple. The bleeding had stopped. She barely even felt her fingertips. Or her limbs. In fact, her entire body felt numb, and yet… No shivering. She’d been submerged in ice water for more than twice the time she’d ever been able to endure as a human. Calm. Unmoving. The instinct to seek warmth was barely a whisper in the back of her mind. The transformation had made the cold more than tolerable. Almost irrelevant. Despite all the ailments this water was said to heal, Seluna’s sacred moonwater could not have purified her. She had known it wouldn’t. Seluna had never been the most giving of the Goddess’, even in the best of times. But a small pang of disappointment lingered nonetheless. Something inside had quietly wished for it, despite knowing. But the waters had always offered calm and clarity. And it had given her that, at least. The panic had subsided. The anger curled inward, compressed into a small, heavy — manageable — knot in the center of her chest. She could breathe again. She looked up through the open dome once more, watching large snowflakes steadily descend into the temple. The prayer she’d begun before she’d entered the moonpool was unfinished. The final words danced at the edge of her tongue, but she forced them down. Her fiery eyes narrowed on the moon’s light beyond the clouds. In the capital, she would have been forced to finish the prayer before being allowed to rise from Seluna’s waters. She would not finish this ritual. Not anymore. It was no longer hers. Feeling a tingle run down her spine, Kira glanced at her pile of clothing and weapons. The Lunarian guard was close now. She could feel his approach — she’d been aware of each and every step he took toward her. Bracing her hands against the pool’s rim, she pushed herself out of the water. Sitting on the stone edge, she let the water rush off of her body and puddle onto the temple floor. Behind her, the doors creaked open, but she didn’t turn to see who’d entered. She already knew. If not for their bond, then for the singular heartbeat that accompanied his arrival. [color=FA8072]“Oh! Are you alright?”[/color] She cringed, glaring down at the rippling moonpool. The tight ball of anger in her chest flexed. [color=FA8072]“I was worried, I thought I heard.. Well, I think I did.. I—”[/color] [color=DC561E]“Stop.”[/color] And he did. His stammering. His fast approaching footsteps. He froze mid-stride in the center of the temple. She sighed heavily. [color=DC561E]“You are incessant, aren’t you?”[/color] Slowly she stretched her neck from side to side. Rolled her shoulders. Stretched her arms and her fingers. Then, when she felt feeling in her legs again, she stood. She half turned, meeting his dark eyes, filled with concern — or perhaps horror. [color=DC561E]“Relax.”[/color] She murmured with a half smile. Bending, she gathered her pile of belongings. [color=DC561E]“Grab me a towel, hmm?”[/color] She quietly padded to one of the pews, while he obeyed and began to move again — finding a nearby supply nook. Silently, while she rang out the wet ends of her hair onto the ground, he brought a towel. As she dried herself, his lips parted. She felt his mind searching desperately for words. Thoughts slipped away before he could latch onto them. She nudged them further out of reach. [color=DC561E]“Listen.”[/color] She draped the towel over his shoulders, then stepped into her undergarments and her pants. [color=DC561E]“You’re assigned here now. At the temple.”[/color] [color=FA8072]“But I—”[/color] Something slipped through. A stronger emotion, enough to let him speak. She extinguished it. [color=DC561E]“Beg your commander to put you here. You’re devoted to protecting the Priestess now.”[/color] He didn’t respond. She gave him a faint closed lipped smile and pulled on her shirt. [color=DC561E]“You’re deeply devoted to the faith. Even if you weren’t before, now you are. Study. Assimilate.”[/color] She tugged on her boots, propping one muddy shoe onto the pew as she slid a dagger into it. [color=FA8072]“The Commander will—”[/color] [color=DC561E]“Switch assignments with someone else. I don’t care how you do it.”[/color] She met his gaze as she secured her second dagger at her hip. He blinked, frozen again. [color=DC561E]“At the end of each day, you’ll report what you’ve seen to me. Or—”[/color] She shrugged on her coat, feeling the weight of Sya’s alcohol still in her pocket. [color=DC561E]“I will take it from your mind myself.”[/color] Stepping closer, she placed a delicate hand on his cheek. [color=DC561E]“Understand?”[/color] The response took a moment. A few breaths passed between them. His heartbeat thundered in her ears. For a moment, she considered sinking her fangs into his throat again. But it was too soon. She’d kill him. And now — he had a use. He nodded. She smiled. [color=DC561E]“Good boy.”[/color] With a harder than necessary pat to the side of his face, she turned and left him there in the temple. Held in place by their bond, he would remain. Praying. Acting the role. Until she loosened her grip enough for him to think on his own again. Pushing open the heavy temple doors, Kira stepped into the falling snow and raised her hood. It was time to go home.