Starlight.

Addison sucked in a short breath as she was startled awake by the sound of her own name.

She had been having a bad dream; one involving the back of an ambulance. Only in the dream, Zed's Z-band didn't restart his heart like it was supposed to. She was panicking, shouting out his name, when she'd heard the voice speaking her Lunite name.

The word hadn't been spoken aloud though. Rather, they had reverberated through her head. Though it had startled her, the voice itself was familiar.

...Mayar? Addison glanced quietly around the room, not wanting to wake Zed, who was still deeply asleep at her side on the old couch. Where are you?

Underneath you. Mayar replied, showing Addison a vision of the dimly lit tunnel that apparently resided somewhere below Eliza's house. Sorry. I shouldn't have awakened you. I was walking the tunnels, and I sensed your presence.

It's okay. Addison replied. She pointedly avoided mentioning the terrible dream she had just been having, and could only hope that Mayar would sense that she didn't want to talk about it.

What's up? Addison asked.

Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Mayar said, and Addison could see her sister smiling with anticipation.

Addison smiled, too. She yawned and stretched out gently so as not to disturb Zed. His mouth was hanging open slightly as he slept, and she fleetingly noted that he looked absolutely adorable.

Well, Mayar began, We have a monthly storytelling meeting in the main room of the Crater. Ayla and Badru are on shift guarding Charon right now, but they told me earlier this morning that we should invite some of our Seabrook friends to join us. You know, to help everyone get more acquainted. And, it would be a good opportunity to teach others more about our culture.

Addison grinned even further. For one, she loved the idea of everyone gathering together in the Lunite's home.

But even more than that, she herself wanted to learn more about Lunite culture.

Her culture. Addison had grown up being human, and living in human society. She knew the customs, history, and social norms of humanity. But now, there was an entirely new part of her that had yet to be discovered.

Did Lunites have holidays? Play their own types of games or sports? Did they have their own types of music and dances? Addison had so many questions about her newly found people. But despite learning about her alien heritage, she had not yet had the opportunity to really try to learn much about them. Her and her friends had been too busy looking for the moonstone, and trying to avoid being killed by Charon. Perhaps now that said issue had been put to a stop, she could begin to obtain more knowledge about this new side of herself.

You are going to love being a Lunite, Starlight! Mayar said, and Addison could see her bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with enthusiasm. And, tonight will be a perfect opportunity to learn more about us.

Why's that? Addison asked, tilting her head slightly to the side as Zed snored quietly beside her.

Because, tonight is storytelling night. Mayar continued. Once a month, the elders each take turns telling the younger ones some of the different stories and legends of our people. Usually the stories are very old; from back when Lunites still lived beneath the moon.

"That sounds awesome!" Addison said, not realizing she had spoken aloud until Zed yelped and jerked awake at her side. "I'll definitely be there. I'm sure everyone else will want to come too."

"Huh?" Asked a blurry-eyed Zed, staring over at her with a disoriented expression and a tuft of green hair sticking out on the side of his head.

Good! Replied Mayar happily. It will be so much fun! We'll see you tonight! She bounced about again, thinking about Wyatt and how he would cuddle next to her in the great room of the cavernous space. Addison could feel the joy of new love as it emanated from her sister.

She smiled as Mayar began to walk away, her thoughts becoming muffled as the distance grew.

Addison turned to face Zed, who was looking at her with an expression of mounting perplexity.

"What's happening? Who's going where?" Zed asked, running a hand across his face as he sat up. He blinked down at Addison with squinting and half-asleep eyes, filled with confusion.

Addison opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as a silent voice spoke yet again.

Oh, and Starlight! Mayar's voice suddenly resounded again in her head.

"Hmm?" Addison said, looking down at the floor towards the direction from which Mayar was speaking.

"Are you talking to the floor?" Zed asked.

"Shh." Said Addison, holding a finger to his lips to halt him from speaking further.

What is it, Mayar? She asked.

Be sure to bring Bucky. Mayar replied. Qamar is... rather fond of him.

Mayar grinned, and through her thoughts, Addison could see the twinkle of amusement that flashed in her sister's eyes.

Oh, is he? Addison said. Funny you should mention that.

Quickly, as Zed continued to stare at her, Addison recounted the conversation that she had had with Bucky in the gymnasium after last night's practice.

Bucky totally likes him! Addison said, smiling broadly. And they would be so freaking cute together, Mayar.

I agree! Said Mayar. There's more to it, though. Qamar doesn't simply have a crush on your cousin. It's more complex than that.

Addison frowned slightly. What do you mean?

In her head, she watched Mayar's memories flowing past as she remembered her own conversation from the previous evening. She, Qamar, and Aruna were standing in a different tunnel, arms interlinked as they spoke. Aruna and Mayar were staring expectantly at a glaring Qamar, who seemed unwilling to fully meet their eyes as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Bucky... Is my soulmate." He had groaned aloud, his face a bright, shimmering periwinkle as his royal blue eyes stared at the packed dirt floor of the tunnel. The memory faded out, and Addison's mouth popped open in a perfect "O" shape, closely resembling the expression she had seen on Aruna's face towards the end of the memory.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, once again causing Zed to jump and his eyes to widen.

"What?" He asked.

I know. Mayar said. Isn't it wonderful?

Well, yeah. Addison said. But... Maybe we should keep that particular information between us, Aruna and Qamar for now. I mean, Bucky is the king of melodrama, and he is just barely starting to admit that he has feelings for Qamar. If he finds out he has some apparent mystical connection to him, it might be... too much too fast, you know?

She listened as Mayar pondered this, and felt her sister's sense of approval as she came to a state of agreement.

Hmm. Mayar sighed. I see what you mean. Qamar hasn't exactly come to terms with his feelings, himself. It is probably best to leave the boys alone, and let things develop naturally.

Addison nodded, once again holding a hand to Zed's lips as he opened his mouth to ask her what in the world was going on.

I'll see you tonight, Mayar. Addison said, grinning. I'll be sure to bring everyone else along, too. Including Bucky.

See you tonight! Mayar's voice replied, already fading in volume as she walked back towards the direction of the forest.

Addison turned back to face Zed, who was now sitting up on the couch and staring at her in complete dismay.

"Good morning, handsome!" She said sweetly, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Did I miss something?" Zed asked, looking around the little living room as though he might see a person he hadn't yet noticed. He was currently wondering whether or not he was actually awake, because his girlfriend seemed to be speaking nonsense.

"Sorry," Addison giggled, snuggling back into his side. "Mayar was in the tunnels under the house. I was talking to my sister."

"Ohhhh." Zed sighed, comprehension dawning on his face. "Well, thank goodness. Because I thought I was going crazy there for a second."

Addison couldn't help but laugh at his relieved expression. She reached over, running her hand along the side of his head in an attempt to smooth out the hairs that were currently sticking out at a bizarre angle.

"Sorry," she said, meeting his eyes with a gentle smile. "I kinda forget that not everyone can hear the Lunites communicating, sometimes. It just sounds like a normal conversation, to me."

"You are incredibly awesome." Zed said. And he meant it.

Addison had worried, when she'd told Zed about her new abilities, that it would possibly cause issues between them. She thought that perhaps he would become self conscious, or uncomfortable with the idea of her knowing what he was thinking.

An even smaller part of her, deep down, had worried that maybe he would find that he couldn't love someone as different as she had now become. Maybe it had been her normalcy that had attracted him to her in the first place.

But of course, she had been wrong on all counts.

Now, more than ever, she knew just how truly Zed loved her, both the normal parts, and the not-so-normal ones. Just like she loved every part of him, both the Zed with the Z-band, and the Zed without.

The morning was a comfortable combination of happy and hectic, thanks to the large amount of people in the little house. Addison and Bree elected to walk back to the Wells house for breakfast, since the majority of the food in Eliza's house was geared towards zombie palates. Before leaving, though, Addison had relayed her conversation with Mayar to the others.

Everyone was excited at the prospect of spending the evening in the Crater. It would be great, getting to hear Lunite stories and learning more about their new friends.

Smiling and laughing, Addison and Bree had made their way out of the front door and down the steps. It was brisk outside, and Addison was glad that both of them had brought along a change of clothes in their duffel bags. Otherwise, they would be walking home in their cheer uniforms.

Of course, they had winter uniforms, but hadn't been wearing them last night, since it was an indoor practice.

In fact, the winter uniforms would be making their debut appearance at tomorrow's Shore Day performance. Addison was excited to show off the cold-weather versions of their excellent new uniform designs. A vibrant emerald top, with three quarter sleeves that faded from green to a shimmering silver at the cuffs. The skirt, about an two inches longer than their fall uniform, was a cascading spiral of green, silver, and pink stripes, with glittery pink leggings beneath it. Silver sneakers rounded out the outfit. It was one of her favorites, the design agreed upon by her, Bucky, and Bonzo, who had mostly designed the ensemble.

"We'll have to go straight from cheer practice to the Crater, tonight." Bree said, looking from side to side as they crossed a quiet intersection. There wasn't much traffic in Zombietown, since very few zombies owned cars. It was a largely pedestrian community, with a fair amount of bicycles thrown into the mix.

"Yeah." Addison replied. Guess we'll have to bring another change of clothes."

"I'm gonna need to go shopping." Bree said, offhandedly. "I only had a few outfits at your house, and the rest of my clothes are... Well. Ya know."

Addison looked at her friend sympathetically. Of course, her friends clothes were gone, as well as most of her other possessions. It was going to take a while for things to return to some version of normalcy for her. Bree's parents, who were arriving back tonight, would be taking her to their boathouse on the beach, where they would be living until their house was rebuilt. At least she would be waking up to a beautiful beach view every morning, in the meantime.

"A shopping trip could be fun, actually." Addison said with a widening grin. "Don't you think?"

Bree grinned, too. "It could be extremely fun." She said. "And we could definitely use the retail therapy!"

They both giggled.

"Oh!" Bree said. "You know what we should do, Addy?"

"What?" Addison asked, glancing over as they walked through the barrier entry and into one of the many parks that served as a transitional area between Zombietown and Seabrook. A fountain bubbled nearby through the chilled morning air.

"We should get makeovers!" Bree squealed, gesturing her hands outwards enthusiastically into the space between them. "I'm talking the works. New hair, new outfits. Really wow the boys when they see us tonight, you know?"

Addison considered this. She had worked very hard to grow out her hair, ever since she'd stopped wearing the wig. In a way, she was almost protective of her hair, and hadn't so much as trimmed it in forever. Then again, she'd never really had a positive haircut experience, either. Her hair had always been trimmed at home, by her mom. And the point of those haircuts had only been to make it easier to hide, not to make it look pretty or fashionable.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to change things up, just a bit.

"Did you guys say 'makeovers'?" Boomed a loud, feminine voice behind them, from a nearby set of shrubs.

Bree shrieked, halfway jumping into Addison's arms. Addison was similarly affected, nearly toppling over in surprise at the unexpected sound.

Wynter emerged from within the bushes, with a smiling Willa following closely behind.

"Sounds like fun." Wynter continued. "Can we watch?"

"Holy poms, you guys!" Bree gasped, quickly disentangling herself from Addison, who was now laughing. "Do you ever make any sound at all?"

"Not really. It's a wolf thing." Willa shrugged.

"Why don't you guys come with us?" Addison asked. "We could all get glammed up!"

The two wolves glanced at one another.

"You mean, go to the mall?" Willa asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically.

"C'mon," Bree said, "You might like it! Besides, Eliza would love to see you all decked out in a cute dress, I bet."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Willa said, her fangs flashing with her smile as she rolled her eyes. "But, now that you mention Eliza; I actually was wanting to... Ask you guys for a favor?"

Willa's tone abruptly shifted from jovial to slightly nervous. Addison immediately picked up on her friend's change in demeanor.

"Everything okay, Willa?" She asked. Addison wasn't sure she'd ever actually seen the alpha wolf look uncomfortable. She always seemed to exude confidence, no matter what she was doing.

At first, Willa just shrugged. Then, Wynter nudged her pointedly. Willa slowly pulled a small, wooden box out of her vest pocket and held it up. Using her thumb, Willa flipped open the little box, and Addison and Bree both let out identical gasps of surprise.

Inside the wooden box was a small, black ring. There was a roughly cut diamond glittering in it's center, in the shape of a sideways north star. At it's sides, the black stone had been intricately carved, with smaller star shapes cascading out from the diamond at each side. Both the diamond and the stone band had been polished until they sparkled. Morning sunlight glinted off of the ring as Willa held it up for their inspection.

"I'm going to propose to Eliza." She said, a nervous but happy smile breaking across her face.

Bree squealed again, and instantly rushed forward to examine the ring.

"Oh my goodness!" Addison yelped happily, surprised to feel the sting of tears at the corners of her eyes. She held her hands to her face to hide her own rush of emotions. Though Willa looked fairly calm, she was inwardly overwhelmed with love and a joyous nervousness. So sincere were her emotions as they flowed through Addison, that they nearly overwhelmed her, too.

"Willa, that's so, so wonderful!" Bree babbled, reaching out and pulling Willa into a brief half-hug as her already higher-pitched voice went up another half octave. "You guys are too perfect together!"

"Then, you most definitely need to come to the mall with us!" Addison affirmed, wiping at the edges of her eyes with the back of her hand. "We've gotta get you all fixed up with a gorgeous look for the proposal!"

"I don't know..." Willa said, looking as unsure as she sounded.

As far as Addison was aware, her wolf friends had never been to any of the human clothing stores. She didn't know exactly why. She'd once hears Zed mention their apparent dislike of malls to Bonzo, but he had never elaborated, saying that Wynter would tackle him if he did.

"C'mon." Wynter begged. "I heard that the mall has a food court! A court of food, Willa."

"Yeah, Wynter," Addison added. "Plus, they have clothes that didn't come from the Acey's lockers."

The small group of girls laughed, as Wynter shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Alright, ladies." Addison said, gesturing onward. "Let's swing by my house and get the car, and then go have an adventure!"