Anju was indeed fabulous. Her furry was subtle, but in a very terrifying way. The two girls, both of whom Louna was assuming were only about thirteen, stood with their heads lowered. So did Louna. She might have not been the one getting disciplined, but Anju's anger was radiant enough to make her keep her eyes attached to the floor. Once Anju was finished her business with the two other priestesses in training, she turned her attention to Louna and addressed her with the utmost patience.
Louna forced her head up. Suddenly, she really wished she would have stayed with Waka.
"I wanted…" she started, hearing something of a sneer in her voice, or a possible growl. She might have needed to apologize, but no one said she wanted to. "… What I did yesterday was… rude and disrespectful… and…" She should not be struggling with an apology. The more she hesitated to get it over with, the more time she'd spend standing dumbly in front of Anju. Louna folded her arms, and side glanced to the floor below. "I'm just trying to say sorry, but it's kind of hard for me if you understand."
"I do," Anju said, giving a small nod of her head. "You've probably just went through quite a rush in the past two days. I can understand if it's from here you want to take slow steps. I completely understand, and I do accept your apology."
Louna smiled. She was glad to hear those words. She had been through quite a rush. She was practically thrown out of her clan for who really knew how long, separated from her last family member, came across Waka, and now had to learn the ways of a priestess all over again. Things were moving too fast for her to accept everything, and she wanted to take those slow and understanding steps. Anju certainly could read her well.
"But, I am curious to know if you want to become a priestess, again." Anju's voice became serious again, and she lowered her head a little. "I don't want to teach you something you don't want to learn. It'd be a waste of time if you're not willing," Anju told her.
Louna shook her head. "No, I'm afraid I'm not willing to accept being a priestess, again. Waka definitely won't be happy to hear that, he'll probably try to convince me to change my mind, but I'm not ready, yet. I know that for a fact." Louna glanced back up, her lips pulling into a frown. Anju was nodding her head in agreement.
"I was thinking the same. You're welcomed here any time you feel you need to be here, Louna. As for now, take care of yourself and be careful. You might not believe in a lot of things Waka says, but trust him. He has you with him for a good reason." Anju smiled weakly, and Louna nodded.
Well, it seemed like she was done here, and she felt like she needed a place to think. Louna turned, and left out of the temple where the two girls would start their late practice. Louna stared down at the ground, noticing that she forgot her sandals down at the beach. The beach was where she had that silly incident, which started with her mask, which wouldn't have happened if she had never met Waka. Louna made her way to the bridge, stopping when she was standing on the middle of it. Her eyes glanced up at the still gray sky.
If she believed in the gods, even for the smallest moment, would any of this be happening to her? And since it was happening, what were they trying to tell her? Louna closed her eyes as a breeze blew, her hair gently swaying along with the sleeves of her kimono. She really wished she could receive answers right away, but she'd wait for just a little bit longer…
"Are you the canine I saw yesterday?"
Louna's attention was pulled away from her thoughts, shifting to a familiar stranger walking his lone self over the bridge. The thing Louna noticed the most about him was his heavy flower scent, as if he had been handling flowers all morning, and secondly was the way he carried himself. He appeared to be wealthier than the commoners she had seen in the city. Louna blinked her eyes, staring at the stranger's face and wondering if they had met before.
He seemed to notice that she didn't recall him. The stranger kept a respectful distance away from her, giving her space, and smiled very faintly.
"We met yesterday night. You were under a tree, I guess hiding yourself as a canine. I came up and tried to talk to you… Heh…" She could tell he was growing a bit uneasy by her blank stare. Her eyes weren't the most pleasant to look at when her face was set so firmly. For the stranger's sake, she loosened her expression, and gave a small nod of her head.
"I remember now," she said quietly. She had been hoping to met the stranger again. He seemed like a pleasant person himself, and she gave him credit for his bravery in approaching and petting her. No one else had done it. "I'm very sorry if I'm the slightest bit intimidating right now. My womanly emotions are mixed about and flowing overboard," Louna said, walking over to a rail and leaning over it. Her eyes stared into the water, looking down at her reflection. She did want so badly to have someone to talk to, but he wasn't anyone she'd spill her troubles out to. She didn't know him well enough, vice versa, and he probably didn't want to hear them anyway. A bit of surprise flitted across her eyes when he joined her at the rail.
"Your apology is accepted," he said, chuckling just a bit. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here alone? Aren't you suppose to be with someone, going from what I heard?" he asked, smiling warmly at her.
Louna shrugged. "I'm not so sure if I want to be around him," she answered, making sure not put too much emotion into that line. "He's not making anything better for me, if that's what he's suppose to do." Louna rolled her eyes, but kept them down on her reflection in the water. She glanced over to the stranger, and he seemed to be staring at her intently, as if something was on his own mind. Louna turned her head to him, and he quickly looked away.
"Have you talked to him?" he asked.
Louna gave a sarcastic chuckle, replaying the event from earlier this morning in Waka's palace in her head. The talk they had then only made her want to talk more, but she had remained silent, holding everything else she didn't say inside of her. She didn't know how much longer she could hold them back before she cried herself to sleep.
"I'll take that as a yes," the stranger said. "But, I guess it didn't go to well? Or, at least not the way you wanted it to go?"
Bingo. Louna nodded faintly, remembering that only a minute ago she didn't want to discuss any of this with him. Somehow, he was getting her to talk.
"And now something else is bothering you, right?" he asked.
Louna nodded again, joining her hands together and leaning on her stomach on her arms. "Right," she replied. "How are you reading me so well? I don't seem to need to say much," she chuckled weakly.
He chuckled, too. "I guess you could call me a bit of an empath. I'm very good at reading the emotions of others." He joined his hands together inside the sleeves of his kimono, hiding them as he pushed himself from off of the railing. Louna watched his back start to retreat from her. "Well, the most I can tell you is to perhaps talk again. Whatever is bothering you is causing you to have strong emotions, emotions that will put a lot of stress onto you. Try to enjoy the rest of your day, okay? It was nice meeting you again."
"Wait!" Louna exclaimed, turning around. The stranger paused, and waited for her to speak again. "If we do meet again, I'd like to know your name," she said. "I'm Louna."
He stole a brief glance over his shoulder, and gave her a friendly smile. "I'm…," he said, then started to walk away once more. Louna arched a brow, wondering if her thoughts had distracted her enough to miss his name. She saw his lips move, but didn't hear a thing. It didn't matter too much. She'd get it next time.
Louna glanced ahead. She had to go find Waka.
He was standing near the spot where they landed earlier in the morning, seeming to be searching for someone. His expression was a bit worried, and Louna wondered if she had been its source. Waka confirmed that she was when he spotted her, his face filled with relief.
"Are you ready to go back to the palace?" he asked her.
Louna nodded her head. "Yes, but…" Louna trailed, frowning at herself a little. "We have to talk," Louna said.
Waka nodded. "That's no problem, Louna. We can talk," he said, his tone light.
Louna shook her head. "No, I should correct that. I have to talk. There's a lot of things I have to say if you want to understand my current opinions, my current worries, and everything else. So just… listen, please?" Louna heard her voice become small, and she found herself staring down at the ground without meaning to. Her eyes brimmed with tears, the tears that always occurred when her emotions started to overwhelm her. Crying was her source of releasing stress, but this once she really wished she could have held them back.
She heard Waka sigh, and she shut her eyes tightly. "Alright, Louna," he spoke to her gently. His arms wrapped very lightly around her, and she placed her head on his shoulder, keeping her eyes closed to prevent any more tears from falling. Louna bit her lip, struggling to hold back her sobs. "I understand. I'll listen to every word you have to say." Waka's voice was a whisper, and he placed a hand on her head as if to comfort her. A light feeling came over her, and she wasn't sure if it was from Waka transporting the both of them back to the palace, or because for the first time of being around him, she felt comfortable.
