All of Waka's words sounded like gibberish to Louna. She gained a vacant stare as she tried to process everything he told her. And perhaps it should have made sense, but it didn't. She had been looking forward to it finally receiving answers, but they only made her more confused. Waka noticed this. His emerald eyes watched her carefully. The smile on his face was sad as he recognized her expression.
"Louna?" He said gently.
Before he could say anything else, Louna rushed to her paws. Waka rose with her, readying himself for her next move. Louna took large steps back, seeing red pulse before her vision again as anger overwhelmed her.
"YOU ARE A LIAR!" she growled. "My mother would never lay in bed with a demon! I am not a demon! I am born a priestess!"
"Louna," Waka called gently. He did not take any steps towards her, but the Tao Troopers in the hall readied themselves for Louna.
"NO!" Louna's voice echoed through the hall. From her paws, shadows extended outward. They crawled against the wall behind her and slithered over the table in front of her. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF ARATANI THAT WAY!"
It was as Waka had predicted. Louna would always react this way no matter how he told her about her family. He pitied her, but he was mostly worried about her harming the Troopers, because she was unaware of her own powers. This part of his visions always had the potential to go wrong.
"It was not my intention to upset you," Waka stated, holding his hands up so she could see he bore no weapons to hurt her. Only the little fan was in his hand. "You deserve to know the truth."
"This is not the truth!" Louna's voice was omnipresent. It was only a matter of time before she was lost in her anger completely. "Would I not know if my own father was a demon?!"
He was not sure how to answer her, because the truth was an answer she did not want to hear. Still, he had to keep her there. She couldn't run off.
"Louna," Waka started gently. "I am here to help you. I saw what you were going through. You are safe here."
Louna laughed, her voice a harsh cackle. "I am not safe in the care of someone who spouts lies about my family!" She took another step back and her legs disappeared into the shadows. "I will not tolerate –"
The little fan in Waka's hand dropped open. With one motion of his wrist, a silver dart struck Louna's neck. The large canine twisted her head away from the side the needle hit her. She stepped further into the shadows, causing most of her body to disappear. The Troopers inched forward, only pausing when Waka raised his other hand to keep them still. His eyes remained on Louna, hoping his plan would work.
Louna's mouth pulled back further, revealing more of her sharp fangs. Purple crawled over her sclera as her anger increased. That sneaky bastard! Her vision rapidly became hazy, and her body felt heavy. What did he hit her with? Louna twisted her head about wildly, starting a prance in attempt to shake the needle off.
Waka did not move an inch as Louna thrased around the mess hall. In her rage, her massive body knocked tables and silverware over. Troopers rapidly moved out of her way. Waka waited patiently. Any moment, the serum on the needle would put Louna into a tranquilized state. He could tell her body was becoming heavy. With each spring from her legs, she thrust less and less.
Eventually, after Louna had given the mess hall a literal meaning, the canine came to a slump. Her eyes locked on the closest Trooper and she snapped viscously at him. Waka took this opportunity to approach her, cautious just in case she still had enough energy to lounge. Despite her violent reaction, he was relieved that she did not get away like she had in his visions. This particular result seldom ended well when he saw it.
Waka placed a hand on Louna's head. Right in between her ears. "We are going to move you into your room," he told her. She growled, but it was weak as her sedation took over. "I promise you are safe. And we will talk again once you have calmed."
Louna was seeing double when she opened her eyes. Her head was pounded painfully, as if she had hit it against a boulder. She groaned, feeling every bone in her body shift as it slowly changed back into her human form. She looked around her new surroundings, and could not immediately place where she was. Distant memories of the last conversation she had came slowly to mind.
Your father was to be the crowned ruler of demons.
Waka! Louna thought bitterly. The sudden burst of anger she had was almost enough to make her vision red again. That man had spouted lies about her family. He had claimed that her father was a demon. Ridiculous!
Before the high priestess Aratani was courted, she was rumored to be gravely ill. Once she met, Yuuma, her health became better.
The idea of her mother bedding a demon was preposterous. Louna knew the energy of her father was different. But a demon? A high priestess and a demon did was not a compatible match. Her mother would never work with a demon!
Yuuma (which to Louna, her father's name had been Dinuto) had vanished from the kingdom after an attack on the crowned family. He found a tribe that he could blend into. There, he found the sickly Aratani and saw an opportunity. If she could give him protection, keep him hidden, he could keep her alive, make her healthy. So they made a deal. She would no longer worry about her ailment, and Yuuma would become Rikuto.
From that deal came Louna and Milly. Even trying to consider the logic behind it, it still sounded ludicrous to Louna. She couldn't understand why her mother would give shelter to a demon – even if it meant she could save herself. Aratani was renowned for her spiritual power. She could purify anything. She could create power barriers. She could cast away all demons she encountered. She could do anything but cure herself…
With that in mind… Did Aratani ever want to save herself? Should that be the only way, would she have done it? To strike a deal with a demon to save herself… That was quite a secret. One she didn't even share with her children should it be true. A selfish act for any priestess.
Ugh! Louna felt as if she could strangle Waka the next time she saw him! She stood up from the silks she was laying in, and took a look around the small room. As far as she could tell there were no windows for her to determine the time. There was a storage closet, a small table in the middle of the room, and her bed. On the table, Louna noticed a small pill and a glass on a tray with a note that read From Waka. Out of her anger, she turned from the tray to ignore it.
Tap, tap, tap.
"How are you feeling, Louna?"
Murderous now that she heard his voice. The anger that she felt before was hot enough to boil her blood. Her fangs extended involuntarily, as well as her claws.
"Petit pup," Waka chuckled through the door. "There is no need to get worked up again. I am only here to talk."
Louna scowled. "So you can stick another needle in my throat?"
Waka shrugged. "Only if it is necessary. However, should you calm down, I would like to answer all of those questions you have peacefully."
"I have no questions for the lies you've told me," Louna quickly responded.
"Petit wolf," Waka amended from his earlier endearment. "That is a lie in itself."
Of course she had plenty of questions! This odd man had suddenly made her doubt everything she knew about her family. And as much as she hated to think about it, what if it were true? What if none of it was lies? Her mother had fall mysteriously ill after her father died. And tribe members always spoke about how suspicious that was. They always spoke about how her father didn't seem human. But none of them had started to question Louna or Milly about the oddity until after their mother passed. It was suspicious that she had demons following after her. Despite being mad, she could not really blame the tribe members. However...
"Prove it," Louna spoke quietly. "Can you do that? Can you prove to me that my father was a demon? This... Yuuma?"
"I could, but that may put you in danger." Waka sounded hesitant. "I may need time to arrange something better than what I currently have in mind."
"And that would be?" Louna questioned.
"Yuuma still has relatives. Would you like to meet your other family?"
The offer made Louna realize that she had never thought about her father's family. She had always thought of him as being part of the Oina. Should Waka's claim be true, should she have family of demon-kin, would she want to ever met them? The idea made her uncomfortable.
"Take the time you need, then." She could sense the smirk he was giving her behind the door. "I have a lot to think on. We can talk more tomorrow."