In the days, weeks, and months following, Reisen started to become more comfortable in her new home. Almost every day, she spent time with Keine, learning about Gensokyo and its history and inhabitants, or with Eirin, learning medicine and doing all she could to assist her with her duties around the mansion. And on some days, she was lucky enough to get to spend a few hours with Kaguya herself, simply talking with her and keeping her company. She was quite the woman, always happy and smiling as she spoke, though every now and again, she'd have a bad coughing fit or sharp pain, and Reisen would have to call Eirin in to help her. She asked Eirin about it more than once, and if there was anything she could do to help her, but the answer was always the same. The Hourai Elixir had given her immortality, but the hundreds of years she'd been alive were finally starting to take some toll on her already frail body. And as much as Reisen wanted to be able to help her in some way, Eirin had stressed to her again and again that there was nothing for it other than some medications and patience.

These were always the highlights of her days, when she actually could feel useful to someone. But sadly, the majority of her time was spent either about the mansion, or working with the other rabbits. And while she had nothing against any of them, she couldn't help but feel as if they disliked her. It was almost like she could feel it, in the sideways glances they threw her way, or the hushed whispering when she passed by, that silent understanding that she didn't belong here, that she wasn't one of them.

It was more than obvious enough to see by just their appearances. Reisen stood as tall as a normal human woman, while the Earth rabbits were much shorter, around the height of a young girl. Their ears were short and rounded, a stark contrast from her tall, white ears. Even their clothing stood her apart from them, her skirt and jacket so obviously different than their simple pink dresses.

It was like this every day that she stayed at Eientei, doing her daily duties as she tried to just ignore it all and simply work. Some days were better than others, but for the most part it all just became one big blur of uneventfulness, day in and day out. And as much as she told herself she was enjoying her life at Eientei, she wasn't actually sure if she was anymore.

But seeing as she really didn't have any other options, she'd just have to get over it. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself to try and feel better about things.

Reisen sighed, standing back upright as she ended her reminiscences. She still had quite the trip make today, and she wanted to actually get back before midnight this time. With that, she set out from Eientei's grounds towards the fields once more.

This time, she made sure to focus on her path so as to not get so helplessly lost like she had during last night's little adventure. She stuck close to the dirt trail, making absolutely certain she wasn't straying off into the woods.

This time, the trip didn't take nearly as long, and she soon found herself at the rice fields. It was quiet today, the only sound being the gentle breeze running through the clearing as the bamboo rustled in the wind.

Reisen made her way over to the patties, soon noticing she wasn't alone in the clearing. Facing away from her as she looked over the fields, was Mokou. It wasn't exactly surprising to see her here, seeing as she was the closest thing the fields here had to a caretaker.

She made her way towards Mokou, waving as both a greeting and a means of getting her attention. It wasn't long before the woman actually took notice of her, waving back halfheartedly, more concerned with the fields than her newfound guest.

"Oh, Reisen. Been a while since I've seen you around here." Mokou spoke with her usual monotone manner, which still managed to make Reisen more uncomfortable than it should have. "Guessing you're here for the rice, then?"

Reisen nodded. Despite Mokou's dislike of a few certain residents of Eientei, Mokou was usually a huge help with the Moon Festival, bagging up the rice that they needed for all the mochi they made. Today was no different, and Mokou had already filled 6 sacks full to burst. She wasn't exactly looking forward to carrying it all back herself, but she really didn't have any other options, seeing as Mokou wouldn't be persuaded to come to Eientei.

She managed to lug all six bags over her shoulders eventually, her Lunarian strength making it possible to lift all that weight. Despite that, it was still both extremely heavy and entirely unwieldy, making it a bit harder to actually walk with them all. She said her goodbyes and turned to leave, dreading the trip back, before Mokou spoke up again.

"Hey, I almost forgot to ask. Young girl, black dress, big red ribbon. You seen her?" Mokou spoke with her usual lack of emotion, though Reisen detected a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Rumia? Yeah, I have. I was actually wondering where she was from, I've never seen her around the forest before."

"Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that she showed around here recently. Looked hungry and a little worse for wear."

"Yeah… She kinda worried me, being out in the forest alone like that."

So Mokou had seen Rumia too, then. She wasn't surprised, Mokou knew the forest better than anyone else. It still didn't change the fact that she was both worried and confused about her.

With nothing left to do here, she said her goodbyes for a second time, and started back towards Eientei, her load of rice weighing down on her more by the minute.

As much as she wanted to make the entire trip in one go, she eventually had to stop to catch her breath, almost throwing her bags down before flopping down against a tree. She knew she needed to get back soon, but her legs refused to go even one step further.

It wasn't so bad here, either. It was a decently large clearing, and the cool evening breeze was rather pleasant. And with how tired she was, it was nice to take a little break like this…

Not surprisingly, she soon fell asleep.

She didn't get to stay asleep for too long, and she soon found a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake rather gently.

"Hello?"

Still stuck in that half-asleep state, it took Reisen a moment to adjust her eyes and actually take in her surroundings, most notably the black-clad girl with a firm grasp of her shoulder.

She took a moment to rub at her eyes, before addressing her newfound awakener.

"Ugh… Rumia?"

The girl nodded. "Miss… Reisen, was it? You seemed to have fallen asleep…"

"Yeah, I guess… I guess I did." As she finally began to properly wake up, she noticed how dark it had gotten. She couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours, but it looked like it was already the dead of night…

"Did you get lost again, miss?" Rumia asked her, looking for all the world much too uncaring of wandering around in the forest at this hour.

"No, no, not this time. Just stopped to take a bit of a rest and ended up staying for a bit longer than I intended, is all." She tried to nonchalantly laugh it off, but Rumia could tell just as well as she could that Reisen's extended nap was more than a little inconvenience.

With a heavy sigh, Reisen pushed herself upright as Rumia looked at her with her strange childlike curiosity. She glanced over to the heavy bags of rice next to her and groaned audibly, knowing she'd have to lug them back herself in the dark. And she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

Rumia caught her gaze, following it to the loose pile of rice sacks. "Oh, what's that? They're yours, aren't they?"

Reisen nodded. "Yeah, they're mine. It's just rice. Lots and lots of rice…" She picked up one of the bags, holding it for a moment before heaving it onto her back, her shoulder still sore from earlier.

The girl shifted her gaze from Reisen, to the sacks of rice, and back to Reisen. "Are you sure you can carry all those? They look a bit heavy…" Her voice actually carried a hint of concern in it as she spoke.

"I got them this far, so I should be able to get them back home at least. Besides, I don't really have a choice in whether or not I get them back tonight." She was caught off guard by the sudden concern from this girl she hardly knew.

"Oh… Then maybe I could help you carry them then?" Rumia had this look of sincere desire to help her. Reisen wasn't sure if she should be grateful, worried, or both. But despite any concerns she might have, she really could use the help.

"I guess if you really want to, I'd appreciate the help. Just try not to hurt yourself, they're pretty heavy." Despite her warning to the girl, she'd hardly even finished speaking before Rumia had thrown one of the bags over her shoulder, showing not even the first sign of struggling with the weight, which was certainly intriguing with her otherwise scrawny appearance.

After a few minutes, they managed to distribute all six bags between the both of them, with Reisen carrying four, and Rumia taking the other two with a surprising amount of ease.

"So where are we taking these, miss? Your home, right? Do you live in the forest?" Rumia seemed much different than the last time they'd met, more curious than afraid.

"I do, at a big mansion named Eientei. Surely you've seen it if you've been through the forest enough."

"O-Oh, that place… I've seen it before, but I never got too close. I don't really like large groups of people…" Her voice had lost some of the enthusiasm from before as it slowly descended into a more saddened tone.

Reisen felt like she'd forced some issue that Rumia didn't want to talk about, and she most certainly didn't want to end up scaring the girl off. She seemed like her life had been hard enough already. She felt this strange urge to help her, keep her safe. She'd never really felt that way about anyone before, and it confused her to no end. Maybe her loneliness was finally getting the best of her and she was just subconsciously attaching herself to this girl. But… but was that really such a bad thing?

"It's not so bad there, really. Most of the rabbits you see working don't stay around all the time. At night it's quite peaceful, even. Just a big, quiet, empty house. No crowds to worry about." Reisen smiled softly at the girl, trying to convince her things weren't all that bad.

"Really?" Rumia looked back at her, returning a small smile, almost unnoticeable. "Are there any, um… humans living there?"

"Humans? No, just the earth rabbits, myself, Miss Eirin, and Mistress Kaguya, both Lunarians. Why do you ask?" It was a rather odd question coming from the girl, who seemed to be human herself.

"Just… Just curious, is all." She looked away, focusing once again on the path they were taking, a look of slight relief on her face as she walked. This girl became more and more confusing with every minute that passed…

They talked a bit more as they walked, but for the most part it was silent as they made their journey, the quiet noises of the forest and the moon overhead keeping them company as they traveled. It proved to not be too far from Eientei, and they arrived rather quickly, much faster than Reisen expected.

Reisen showed Rumia to the storage area, before both depositing their loads of rice, earning a long, relieved sigh from the both of them.

As she sat down against the outside wall of Eientei, she gestured for Rumia to sit next to her, which she did quickly, quite obviously more tired from carrying the rice than she wanted to let on.

They sat there in silence for a while, simply listening to the sounds of the forest at night, the crickets chirping, and the bamboo stalks swaying, and a million and one other indistinguishable sounds, all mixed into a cacophony that still somehow managed to be almost serene.

It wasn't long before Reisen heard a new sound in the mix of noise around her. She heard the small, quiet snoring from next to her as Rumia had begun to doze off, her head sliding onto Reisen's shoulder. She couldn't help but smile, a small laugh forcing itself out of her. The sound and sudden movement was enough to shake Rumia out of her sleep, as she looked up a bit guiltily at Reisen.

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry miss, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, really. And you don't have to call me miss, Rumia." She gently placed one hand on Rumia's head, ruffling her hair playfully. "Just call me Reisen, please."

"Alright… Reisen." She smiled, not the small, hidden smile from earlier, but a genuine, sincere smile. It was a smile Reisen could get used to seeing, she thought.

"Do you do this a lot, Rumia? Just… sit and listen like this?"

"Mm hmm. It's usually the only way I can ever get to sleep, the forest is so soothing on nights like this… and the moon too. Sometimes I just lie awake for hours, watching it." As she spoke, she laid her head in Reisen's lap, almost like she didn't even notice she'd done it. And she couldn't help but feel a bit happier from it, as she slowly stroked the girl's bright blonde hair with one hand.

"I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who does that." She laughed softly to herself. "Some of the other rabbits call me crazy, but… Well, I'm a Lunarian. It's only natural that I like watching the moon, right?"

"A Lunarian… so, you came from the moon then, Reisen?" Rumia looked up at her with the look of a curious child who wanted to know all the world would teach her.

"I did. I lived there for a long time before I came here. It was certainly quite a place…"

"Why did you leave?"

Reisen hesitated a moment before answering her, some memories still too fresh in her mind. "Some things happened and I had to leave. It's… It's a long story with some bad memories for me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked…"

"No, no, it's fine. Really."

"If you say so…"

They stayed like this a while longer, not speaking as they enjoyed the peace and each other's company.

Eventually, Reisen had to break this silence to keep them both from falling asleep again. "So, Rumia. Can you tell me a little about yourself? I feel like I hardly know you."

"W-What is it you want to know?" Her shy demeanor had returned in response to Reisen's question, almost as if she didn't want to have to tell her.

"Well, don't you have a family? Someone who raised you, at least?" She tried to keep her questions simple, not wanting to make Rumia uncomfortable.

"I, um… I lived with a family in the human village. At least I did until… I had to leave." She seemed as if she'd been struggling to finish her sentence, like the mere act of talking about these people was something she wanted to keep private.

"I see. Did something happen to them?"

She nodded, her head still in Reisen's lap, but her face turned to look at the forest, rather than at the Lunarian. It was obvious Rumia didn't want to say anymore on the subject, so she decided not to pry any further.

"Well, thanks for all the help today Rumia. I really do appreciate it, even though I do feel like I asked a bit much of you." She giggled, hoping the change of tone and subject would brighten Rumia's mood.

"Oh, it was no trouble, really. I was happy to help. Do you have to deliver these often?

"Yeah, I do. We always need a lot of rice for the festival each month, and the rest of the rabbits are usually so busy with their work that I have to to be the one to get it."

"A festival?" Rumia looked back up at her, a spark of childish intrigue in her eyes. "What kind of festival?"

"A Moon Festival. Once a month, on the night of the full moon, Eientei holds a big festival to celebrate. People from all over Gensokyo come to visit, and the rabbits serve mochi. It's certainly something."

"It sounds fun! But… lots of people, you said?"

"Mm hmm. It's usually a fairly crowded affair."

"I'd love to be able to see it one day…"

Reisen smiled, returning Rumia's gaze. "How about I make you a deal then?"

"A deal? What kind of deal?" She cocked her head to the side, a bit confused.

"Well, since I need to keep delivering rice every day, and you want to go to the festival, we can help each other out. You can help me make my deliveries each day, and in return, I can ask Miss Kaguya to allow you to attend." She almost felt bad for what was almost bribing Rumia to help her work, but in truth, she didn't really mind if Rumia didn't help. She just wanted the excuse to spend more time with the girl.

"Y-You'd really do that for me?" The gleam of curiosity grew, her eyes now twinkling with excitement.

"Of course I would, you seemed like you really wanted to attend, and it'd be wrong of me to not let you."

"Oh, thank you Reisen, thank you!" Rumia nearly leapt up, pulling Reisen into an unexpectedly tight embrace, a few small tears of happiness dripping onto her clothes.

"Hey, hey, it's no big deal, really!" This sudden outpouring of affection caught Reisen off guard. She wasn't used to anything like it, but… she couldn't help but return the girl's hug, the feeling of actually being appreciated by another living creature like this being one she'd not felt for a very long time.

"Still… I'm really thankful. Truly." Neither one of them released the embrace, and neither one of them really wanted it to end just yet either.

"You still have to help me out on my end of the deal too, alright?"

Rumia nodded. "Of course, I'd love to help."

"I'm glad to hear I'll get to see you more often, then." She smiled in quiet happiness. "But I think it's getting a bit late for the both of us."

Rumia seemed to have completely forgotten the time at all until now. "Oh, right. I should be heading off, then."

The two of them finally stood back up, dusting themselves off. "And I should be getting to sleep. Thanks again Rumia. And I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah… See you then, Reisen." With one last smile, Rumia turned away, heading back off in to the dark of the forest.