We were happy then. The two of us were two peas. Barely teenagers, but forced into an adult's world. I was fiery and lived with passion. I sought out the good in everything. I was the sun to his moon. I was the fire, and he was the ice. He often seemed cold, but I knew under that rough, stoic exterior was a kind-hearted man that cared a little too much for others. He was level headed and calculating, and I was spontaneous and temperamental, like a wild fire. Everyone who knew him knew that I was his only weakness, his soft spot. Where he would shy away from others, he would embrace me warmly and flash the biggest smile, no matter how he tried to hide it. He was a warrior, and I wanted so badly to fight alongside him. I was strong, I had a good mana reserve, and I had killer instincts. But still he refused.
"They'll use you against me," he told me. "I don't know what I would do if I ended up losing you. It's just too dangerous, too risky, Andi."
"Pretty please, Ray?" I was trying to kiss up now. "You're so strong, and brave, and handsome. And with cute little 'ole me to cover your back we'd be unstoppable!"
"You know it bothers me when you call me Raven, it's a name given to girls. And it's not even my real name."
"That's why I called you Ray for short. Ray's a boys name, so you can't complain about that nickname. It's a term of endearment, came from the heart. Just shows you how much I adore you." I was snarky, but sincere. I teased him a little more, "You don't even have a nickname for me. You must not love me as much as I love you."
"Andi is your nickname, and you know that isn't true."
"If you love me then let me fight with you!" I knew he couldn't stay mad at me, but still he persisted.
"Andi, I said no. I'm saying that because I care so much about you. You wouldn't last 5 minutes out there." He saw my smile turn sour and my face crumple into a grimace.
"Oh, so I'm too weak now? Is that it? You may be a good shot but I've got some good tricks up my sleeve." I stuck my tongue out at him.
With his arms crossed, he replied, "You know that's not what I was implying. And I know you do, but you don't know what these guys are made of. The ones who attack us, they won't hold back just because you're a cute girl. They won't hesitate to kill you, and they've been trained in magical combat. I know you're a great fighter, but you can't fight military magic Andi. Not without special training." He wrapped his arms around me, even though I looked away with my own arms crossed. "Look at me," he begged. He touched my chin softly with his hand and gently it upward so that I was looking right into his eyes. I saw fear. He never got scared. "I can't risk losing you."
"I know," I said warmly. I held his hand against my face a moment longer before grasping it and bringing it to my side. "Then teach me."
He sighed. "What don't you understand?"
"I understand completely. But what you seem to forget is that I have something to lose too: you. I don't want to lose you either. Let me fight with you, Ray. We can protect each other." I hung my head, feeling tears welling in my eyes.
He knelt down beside me and wiped my tears. "I'll teach you," he said, and my eyes lit up, "on one condition." I was listening intently, my smile growing bigger. "You have to promise me that you will get out of there if things get rough. If I tell you to leave, even if I get hurt, you have to listen. That's the only way I'll teach you to fight with me."
I was hesitant, but if agreeing to his terms meant that I had a shred of a chance at keeping him safe, then I would appease him. I was a lot stronger than he knew, but I didn't want him to feel like I didn't need him to protect me. I could handle myself just fine, despite not being able to cast attack spells very well. When I was young, my father was a researcher. He conducted research on some sort of—medicine I think it was. It had some sort of heavenly name, but I couldn't remember what he had called it. He was an important man who did important work, and wanted me to be able to protect myself incase anyone tried to use me to get to him. My mother died giving birth to me, so I was all my father had. It's funny, my father taught me to fight for the same reason that Ray refused to. I was a skilled swordsman, and adept at defensive magic. I had an affinity for magic resistance, more like a natural talent. I could handle way more attacks, both physical and magical, than anyone else that I knew. But my father didn't share the same talent. Some mornings I would wake up to find my father passed out on the floor, covered in cuts and bruises. One time he was near death and I used healing magic to stabilize him. I was 7 at the time. For years afterward I would study healing magic to be able to help my father. He was involved in a dangerous business, and I hated seeing him all beat up. He never would tell me how he got those wounds, but eventually I woke up one day and my father was gone. To this day I wonder if he's still alive. But that was a long time ago, and he's just a distant memory now. I feel no connection to him anymore, but his lessons lived on inside of me.
We sat outside and watched the sun set over the horizon. The stars made their appearance, and the moon grew brighter. I always loved watching the night sky.
"Hey," Ray spoke up. "Since a nickname seems so important to you, I think I've finally thought of one."
I got excited at the thought, "What is it?" I inquired anxiously.
"Luna." He looked at me with a smile, then up at the moon. I followed his gaze, and he continued to speak. "I figured since the Raven and the Moon were such an iconic pair, what better nicknames for the two of us. And since you've already dubbed me Raven, that leaves you with the Moon, or Luna for practicality reasons. And it sounds better." We both laughed a little.
"Luna it is then." We watched the night sky until I started to drift off to sleep. Then I felt Ray lift me up and carry me home.
For the next few weeks Ray trained me to combat military magic. Gradually I showed him what I was capable of, making it seem as though he was the one teaching me all that I had already known. He was quite impressed with my "improvement." So much so that in a few short months he was ready to let me fight along side him. We were the perfect team: I would start in front and put up a barrier while he proceeded with long-range attacks. We were feared among all our enemies, our most formidable foe being the Researchers of Divine Wisdom. They were diabolical and didn't care who got hurt as long as they got what they wanted. We were able to keep them at bay for a while, but eventually they hatched a plan that would be the end of the Raven and the Moon. We got a call that we were needed to fight, reinforcements. When we got there, there were already so many fallen mages. Everything was set ablaze. There were civilians, women and children screaming for help. Ray told me to put up a barrier as usual. But then I saw a little girl in a nearby building caught up in the fire. I couldn't just let her die, so I rushed to her aid. Ray was holding back the onslaught of attacks from the enemy, and a few more mages showed up to help. When he saw that I had left the protection of the barrier, he stopped attacking and raced towards me. By that time, I had already had the girl in hand, and there was already a blast headed our way. The building we were standing in exploded, throwing Ray back onto the ground. I was caught in the blast, but since I had a high resistance to magic, I survived. My body was mangled and I suffered major burns. My legs were trapped under a beam from the fallen house. I watched through the flames as Ray punched the ground, weeping. I called out to him, but he just looked at me.
"Ray!" I called out. "Ray, please! Help me! I cant move!"
He must've heard me because he got up from the ground and started to come over to me. I was still shrouded by dust and flames, I wasn't sure he could even see me in here, but he must've heard me.
"Ray!" I called out again. He was still coming closer, but then he averted his attention back in the opposite direction. He looked towards me one last time, and ran off. He just left me there. He left me to die. How could he have done that? I thought he loved me, but he abandoned me. What a coward. Part of me broke when I saw him leave. I knew I was going to die here. The fumes from the smoke filled my lungs, and I coughed as I gasped for clean, fresh air. The burns, my legs, my vision was fading. I was beginning to fade out of consciousness. Right before I passed out I saw a figure standing over me. And I felt myself being dragged across the ground. And then it was dark.