Chapter Twenty-One
Waves
On its drop from subsonic, the Ruby shook loose the morning dew on the strawberry fields. Yang perked up from her seat on the Moon cabin's roof, her watch ending with the first streaks of sunlight filtering over the horizon. Below her at the hearth, Blake snapped awake with a comatose Weiss nestled in her hold. She gently released her bedmate, inspecting their surroundings with a quick glance. The large source of warmth from the goddess Hestia went away sometime in the night, replaced by the cooler flames of the bonfire.
Weiss curled into a tight ball, scars glowing angrily on her pale skin. She shivered every few seconds, wrapping her arms around her knees and burrowing deeper into the beanbag. Blake almost pitied her, a lance of pain shooting up her spine from her overloaded network, truly wondering if Weiss would ever recover from her magnum opus. She flashbacked to the moment where Weiss resigned to her fate, accepting she wouldn't survive the Railgun as her Aura ripped her body to shreds from within. Every time Weiss shivered, those scars lit up in an angry red, taunting her, daring Blake to keep Weiss nestled away and secured from the evils of the world.
She tucked the blankets they scattered about throughout the night around her, placing a kiss on the crown of her head. Her snowflake settled down from her tremors and snuggled into the covers, faint lines of stress disappearing from her slumbering visage. The Ruby landed in the fields between the forest and the ring of cabins, Yang waiting for her on the path. They walked over to the settling craft, greeting each other briefly and silently agreeing to wait for all of them to gather before delivering their reports. The ramp lowered as they approached and they stepped up into the fuselage, sliding past the gear and bikes to the habitation compartment.
Zoë and Yang waited for them on one of the lower bunks, the other two across from them occupied with two redheads, one they instantly recognized as Artemis. Like Weiss, she was cocooned in a set of blankets with her head peeking through. Her hair, paler than they remembered, returned to auburn with every passing minute, likely bolstered by the Camp's own mythical and magical presence; a small tidbit of information she leeched from Weiss's questioning to Hestia.
"Sitrep," Yang ordered and Blake flew into a series of hand signs explaining her escapade into the camp's forges, the strange lack of modern weaponry and her forming plans to secure some for themselves, the holes in the camp's nighttime patrols, the entire trade between the two amorous teens, and the prophecy group's departure an hour beforehand. She made sure to type up the entire events in detail, uploading it to the ship's servers now that it was within range. Yang noted everything, her clone not adding anything and then dissipating in a tight mass of dark purple and violet.
Weiss staggered in halfway through the report, wiping the sleep from her eyes and glaring balefully at Blake for not waking her. She rubbed at her scars and moved to the medicine cabinet, pulling another analgesic dose. She sighed in relief once it kicked in, taking a seat at Yang's foot and shutting her eyes as she leaned on her leg. Yang placed a hand to her neck and slowly fed a trickle of her Aura to her, Weiss slumping to a doze as it chased away the rest of the pain.
Yang then traded her report, already typed up while the ship navigated on autopilot, relaying the different enemies they encountered, the location of the base along with its magical defenses, and the subsequent reconnaissance mission she admitted took a strange turn for the better only because of the Titan's disorganization and lack of foresight. Blake frowned, far too used to the guerilla tactics both Beacon and the White Fang used, battling in the shadows of the Capitol Districts or the fields of the Agriculture ones. They, however, had a very good reason for their tactics, Beacon possessing not the numbers and the Fang not possessing the logistical capacity. The Titans on the other hand, were supposedly the Olympian's equal, necessitating a proportionate response from the gods themselves to the point a prophecy came down from Apollo and his Oracle to rescue one of their own.
Mantle, even battered and bruised after Weiss thrashed them at the Bay of Vale, possessed enough firepower to obliterate their House District. They had enough to obliterate even Beacon without breaching Vale's sovereign waters but Neo forbid if Ruby ever got wind of that or vacationing to Cassus was a better idea.
Granted, they had no idea how large their forces were other than the fortress garrison they mostly decimated with a far larger expected force at the base of the mountain. Their expected decentralization with missing army commanders still reviving, something to ask about later, never manifested and they grouped around identifiable landmarks. Camp Half-blood was also a very different organization to Beacon, mostly staffed by teenagers with a lower expected lifespan than Ozpin's Hunters. The Lunar Hunters were the closest analogy to their Hunters, a roaming pack of special forces with a centralized home base but so behind on technology she doubted even their magic could make up the deficit.
"Ugh." Their resident goddess rolled to a seat, dull silver eyes peeking through a right mess of pale red hair. She rubbed the sleep away with her palm, swinging her short legs from the bottom bunk. "Speak with your mouths before I smite you for your impudence." She leveled her best glare at the blonde leader, the entire team slipping into their non-verbal communication, Weiss silently logging the conversation on her wrist pad.
Yang stood and picked up the goddess, placing her on her hip to keep her placated. She protested with a few squawks of indignity, Zoë not at all helping and instead fixing the blankets into a cocoon. The sting of jealousy joined the suppressive drugs coursing through Weiss' system and she suspected Yang cozied up to her for information and alliance. Not because Artemis looked at all like a younger and more innocent Ruby she couldn't help but coddle. A slight bark of a chuckle escaped before she could muffle it, Blake glancing her way while the other two mollified a small goddess.
"I like you better while you sleep." Zoë very carefully didn't mention this was the second time she'd manhandled a goddess. Hestia, she could understand, a goddess left largely alone by even her family, stripped of her throne. She had no children for any tributes and very few demigods even remembered her despite her constant presence at the Camp.
Artemis, however, was a little more detached from her mortal family. Her rare visits to the Camp tainted her reputation from her Hunt's antics and antagony. Chiron and Dionysus no doubt never helped her reputation from the millennia of interactions they've had since Greece. And she was entirely sure most of her reputation didn't even come from the last few hundred years, all of it down to ancient history and legends. A mortal walking about with her on her hip could only help her at this point, especially after the smackdown she delivered to the cabin leaders earlier.
"She's just tired. Ignore her." Artemis mouthed the word 'betrayal' and stuck her tongue out, getting a condescending pat on the head from her loyal Lieutenant. She could do with some pampering after her ordeal and she hadn't obliterated the blonde yet for getting her drunk and then dunking her in a river. Yang marched her girls from their ship, silver eyes staring back at her with brows raised.
Zoë took the chance to lean against the bunk wall, collapsing to a seat. She placed her head between her knees, pressing her hands into the crown of her head and taking a deep breath. Her eyes screwed tight as the Oracle's prophecy washed through her memory. She took a chance going on this quest with her parentage and her father's freedom only cinched her death, the Fates snipping her thread of life. Her head hit the wall, a trail of tears snaking free to run down her cheeks. She wiped them clear, another shaky breath passing her lips, and she found a handkerchief hanging from a tanned hand.
A pair of golden orbs watched her. Many Signal and Beacon recruits couldn't stomach violence, even against the Grimm. To knowingly handle a weapon against life and take it away with a stroke or a stab. To shed blood or corruption and deal with the mental crisis, or risk injury in the line of duty and face their mortality was part of qualifying for the war against Atlas and Vale. She read the bullet point summary displayed on her scroll, digesting Zoë's father was one of the Titan Commanders and Yang's theory of her prophesized death.
That alone would shake people and their faith in their gods.
She tucked the handkerchief into her jacket, wiping the last of her tears. "I didn't think I'd survive this quest." Behind closed eyes, Yang's fight with her father played and she so easily imagined herself in her stead. Except every punch and grapple Yang shook off would've crippled her instantly. "I've lived for over two millennia, almost all of it by my lady's side. Her capture…gods…" She shook her head, a few strands of her midnight hair escaping. She ripped her circlet from its perch, inspecting the luminous silver. "I don't know what'd I do without her."
Blake sat across from her in the narrow hall. She never said anything but Zoë appreciated her presence nonetheless. With the way Yang never shut up about her team, losing their leader must've devastated them. Perhaps worse than her losing Artemis and they didn't get the luxury of rescuing her, surviving despite her fall and likely because of it. To have to carry on, knowing she died so they could live.
"Yang saved my life yesterday." She replaced the circlet, cleaning her face the best she could. "And by doing so, she defied a prophecy. I was meant to die on that mountain, facing my father. Another was supposed to die in a land without rain. I'm in her debt and I warn you as part of that debt that she won't go unnoticed anymore. My lady, Lord Apollo, and Lady Hestia can't shield you anymore, however unknowingly they might've assisted, and Olympus will demand answers."
Blake typed out her entire dialogue in shorthand and notified her team immediately. She was right, of course. After her show in the conference room and then successful retrieval to disrupt a prophecy, many more eyes would dare scrutinize their presence. She massaged away the growing headache, remembering the general annoyance the Council could be in their side. Now make them all immortal without lobby money to grease the wheels and power enough to match Yang and suddenly she wanted to ship them far away to a distant continent.
She helped Zoë to a stand and they staggered over to the Big House, a rather inept analogy for a command center. A few of the cabin leaders who remembered the Ruby's design had already made their way over, staring dumbly at the goddess swaddled in blankets seemingly napping on someone's lap. Chiron sat on his haunches at the head of the ping-pong table, munching on a set of pinochle cards while Dionysus toasted their success with another can of diet coke. He was in a peculiarly good mood for some inane reason no doubt, satisfied that an older goddess got knocked down a peg while he suffered his punishment in the mortal realm.
What threw Zoë however was her lady's missing brother. He almost 100% knew of the prophecy and had his plans to help the quest along in his Fred persona, on top of cashing in on the open flirting the team gave him. If it wasn't for his near obsession with his sister, the free invitation of innuendo and bad haikus should've had him camping outside their ship. She found the great ball of fire peeking through the trees, silently sending him a prayer to let him know Artemis was safe… and received nothing in response. Usually, he'd send a beam of light or a musical note from his lyre on the wind for his favorite Huntress.
She heard Artemis's faint laughter in her head as she swore in her name to beat him black and blue if he was off courting a new bed companion. Artemis knew better; Apollo doing his best to die from intoxication from the prophecy before bribing Dionysus to erase his hangover. Later today he'd wake and start looking for her so she'd give him the benefit of the doubt.
The earth shook her thoughts free, a wave of silver bodies crashing through the porch doors in a dogpile. Artemis blearily opened her eyes at the noise, granting them a half wave, and then nestled into her living heater. Zoë leveled her best no-nonsense glare at her girls for disturbing their mistress so crassly, ignoring Dionysus ignoring them and Chiron denying her very existence. "Get up and present yourselves. We recovered Lady Artemis successfully." She did a headcount, each Huntress shirking from her midnight gaze. "Tell Phoebe, Atlanta, and Naomi she's safe and they can return."
She was getting a massage on Artemis' drachma after this, stopping their cacophony of responses with a swift open palm. "I'll debrief you tonight so until then you have exactly twelve seconds to leave or you're doing chores with the Aphrodite cabin." Yang and her team had never seen a room clear faster, limbs untangling at speed to make Ruby envious. She then looked over to the resident wine god, eyeing the cooler by his seat. He wisely levitated a can over, opening up his magazine and perusing a section on pinot noir. Addressing the porch party, she said, "I swore I trained them into a crack military unit, not a horde of your fangirls."
"They started as tribute." Came the muffled response beneath the blankets, eyes still closed. "It was only after you joined Olympus demanded I used them as a tracking and extermination unit. Those were the days: no pollution, no industries, more wildlife. No microplastics in the meat." Her nose scrunched and wiggled.
"You're getting melancholy." Weiss chided.
"Oh if only I didn't give in to my father's demands, the old overprotective bastard." The sky darkened briefly and then ignited in a white flash and a crack of thunder. Neither of the two deities minded, only Chiron anxiously glancing about and wondering what circle of the Underworld he entered to cause this much chaos. "He'll worry more about me than preparing for the conflict with the Titans."
These Greeks had strange internal workings and odd similarities with Ruby's Beacon: a small group of Team RWBY dictating the organization's movements that often left decentralized cells basic instructions and then sometimes intervened. The only difference was technology, strategies, and average age, Beacon using guerilla tactics to shock and surprise, and leaving the more angsty teens for Taiyang to break and mold into useful recruits. They could work with the Campers and see what she could do while her two loves healed.
"So am I just your medical bed until you heal or am I tucking in somewhere?" Yang quipped.
Artemis nuzzled into her warmth before replying, "Take me to my cabin. I'll heal there the fastest."
"You can say please."
"I can turn you into a moose instead if you'd like. They complain far less."
"You can speak to animals, my lady." Zoë deadpanned.
"You shut up." She poked Yang in her cheek. "You, mush."
"Hestia said the same thing when I gave her a piggyback ride."
"I said shut up." Artemis got the last word in, a slight stain of red across her face.
Blake found Yang leaning against a tree behind the moon cabin, red eyes glowing in the twilight. On the other side, the Hunt commandeered the hearth much to Weiss' ire, hoping the little Heart goddess would grant her more cookies. Yang allowed them their isolated space, keeping them sedated for Artemis's sake, and Blake only confirmed a widening gap with the Campers. "How do you feel?"
Some Aura. Still no semblance. No clones either. The dying sun gave her just enough light to see her hand signs.
"I meant more mentally and emotionally." She stepped up to her Faunus, inspecting those rapidly shrinking pupils to reveal liquid and feathered gold. Blake took a half step back to answer, You and Weiss are fine so I'm fine. A web of purple fire crawled forth and answered for Yang far faster than her words for placing her needs aside. Yang tilted her chin up for a scratch, a lazy smile returning the crimson tide. "I miss our Beacon days."
A rough laugh startled the nearest nymphs from their trees, a dome of noxious yellow snapping around them and shimmering their forms from vision into a blur. "My little ninja kitty." Yang purred, running a tongue along her bottom lip. "It's very good I need Pestilence right now." The Horseman copied her grin, curling her right fist over her heart. "Take what you need and go into the city district. Funds, weapons, fuel, and information. We're done being blind."
Blake raised a hand tinged with the shadows, a mirage of Aura following the movement and then incinerating in a burst of energy. In a similar mirage of Aura, another Yang stepped free. "Illegal or legal is your choice. Daily check-ins for the first week. Get us ready for the shadows. Dismissed." Blake stepped into the shadows and by her next blink, the dome shattered, her copy making her way over to their ship with an amused snort. Yang rolled her shoulders back, bouncing up a glyph and vaulting through the back window into a world of dark.
The moonlight flowing through the roof brightened as Artemis cracked open her gleaming silver eyes, auburn hair glowing in reflection. Each breath infused her form with strength, the small girl from her lap replaced with a goddess merely bound by preference. "Better?"
"Yes." She gestured to the empty space on her cot. "On sun-up, we move to hunt for the creature I failed to fiiiiiind—" Yang wrapped her in a one-armed hug. "You're too serious for a twelve-year-old." The goddess blinked dumbly, her form flashing white and then growing. She looked up with a warning blast of silver building behind her eyes, dissuading her captor. Yang rolled her eyes, finding a far more angular face resting on her chest. "Better?"
"Slightly harder to wrap you in a blanket."
"I plead delirium." Her nightgown morphed into her winter gear at the thought, a wide smile breaking through with each stretch and second she spent in the light streaming through her temple. "Will you join us?"
"As long as Apollo can keep to his duty, I'll follow you."
"Which leads to a problem because I can't reach him." She slung her bow over her back and prepared her pack. "He should've been one of the first to see me as the sun traversed the skies and when Zoë tried to call him, Iris failed to find him." Artemis launched into a short explanation on the rainbow video call service that their world used. "I tried the same and failed but I had to wait for my moon only to find him with his star, the physical one and not his chariot."
"And that worries you?"
"I'm sure it's nothing but it's not usual for him to at least not check in, no matter how busy." She sighed deeply.
"He could just be waiting on word from the prophecy group at his favorite spot, or something else grabbed his attention. You know where he is, trust he's away for a good reason, a reason good enough that he can't check in on you. If he's not back in a few days, start your search to find out why. Use that time to hunt your elusive prey."
"You're right." She slumped forward in resigned defeat, Yang clapping her shoulders to get her spirits back up. "Thanks."
"What are we hunting by the way? You made it sound like the end of the world."
She held her gaze for a dozen seconds. "The Great Stirring foretells the rise of many powerful monsters. On top of that list is the Ophiotaurus: a half bull, half serpent creature of the sea a prophecy says sacrificing its entrails grants power to topple the gods."
"Sounds like a convenient McGuffin if you ask me, an easy way to trap a goddess."
"Perhaps but that's only one of the many beasts I fear are free. A harmless creature is the least of my concerns once it's dead." Yang listened instead of bashing aside the idea of prophecy this time. Regardless, they had information from an enemy officer on actionable assets waking from their slumber and she owed it to Artemis to keep her girls safe while hers recovered. Find the Ophiotaurus and they'd have bait for their enemy.
"A beast of the sea?" Artemis nodded. "Go and ask the son of Poseidon to spread the word you're looking for such a creature." She kept nodding when she realized her blunder, wondering just why she hadn't thought of that earlier. Any time spent with the Council must've robbed her sanity. "Focus on the land-based ones, those you can track reliably, instead of diving into the oceans."
"I'm starting to think our world is only better with your presence. I'm sure my uncle and his spawn would gladly assist my efforts."
"Don't order him Arty, just ask. I'll do it if you can't. Your camp here doesn't have a conventional military structure. There are no officers, no commanders, no one in charge other than Chiron and he doesn't strike me as a leader. Instead, you Greeks function somehow under the delusions of a democracy, good for a society but the death knell for a military."
"I am a goddess Yang, something you'd do well to remember with your nicknames."
"And you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. It doesn't matter if you mean it, asking gives him a choice to prove his worth towards the war effort, especially with his attempts to follow the quest group. Refusing damages his reputation and I advise you do it yourself without the peer pressure caused by your Hunt. He's spirited and I can see the Camp follows his words despite his age and you'll need him when this war kicks off."
Artemis' eyes narrowed and the moonlight burned across her shielded skin. "If the Norse were still around I'd call you Loki with that silver tongue of yours."
"You're welcome to ignore my words but remember I'm your ally. I need Apollo for Weiss and Blake and keeping his sister alive and happy means I don't get a solar flare shoved up my ass." She nodded again, suppressing the absurd thought and image that came from her crass statement. Apollo was her key to the team as much as he was for them, a personal lie detector and her closest godly ally. "Now, you wanna go find a son of the sea? I know someone who can guarantee a nice moonlit walk along the beach."
"I wonder if I can make a moon flare." Yang's laughter echoed and she offered an arm. Against her better judgment, she grabbed her forearm and they left the cabin, skirting around the hearth. Both of them heard the gossip start among the Hunt, Zoë and Weiss stopping their marshmallow game with Re'iyah. She heard more than saw another Yang shift the gravel on her way over to them.
Torches lit their path through the woods down to the sound, many campers returning from their duties or recreation and quietly ignoring the pair. Yang chalked up another victory, confirming Chiron's words during dinner and revealing the goddess. After that dark prophecy, the Camp could use the morale boost and she hoped it gave at least a few of their unofficial leaders the chance to chase ambition and secure official positions. The chaotic transition only guaranteed their unification and, as a side benefit, shake loose a few spies.
Neither of them felt any need to fill the draped silence. Her attention wandered to the stars and galaxies shining free from the murky storm clouds of the Primordial and then switched right back to the tall blonde leading them along the sand. She had the charisma to match Zeus, the strength to match Atlas, and the speed to match Nike, and not a drop of divinity touched her blood. How she wished Apollo hurried from whatever diagnostic check his celestial body required.
On the western edge of the beach they found their quarry sitting in the tide, speaking aloud to his father no doubt. Yang splashed into the water, fading a wall of glyphs in front of them. His prayer dissipated in the din of the night and the winter winds. Artemis let her head fall onto her arm, observing a relaxed mien hiding a century of command found only in the children of Mars. She gave one final inspection before movement beyond the barrier caught her focus. It fell completely when the teenager walked forward, confusion clouding his eyes briefly before bowing and greeting, "Lady Artemis and Miss Yang, may I ask why you're here?"
"For you, boy." Yang pinched her for that one.
"She means we need your help." Artemis twitched away from her fingers. The tide suddenly looked very appealing and practically begged for a blonde to drown. "We thought it best to ask the son of the seas to spread the word we're hunting for a sea creature."
"Yeah sure, I can ask a few of the hippocampi to keep an eye out." Percy agreed without an ounce of hesitation, already looking around for cover from the ground zero of a mortal correcting a goddess. "What're they looking for?"
"The Ophiotaurus, a half bull, half-serpent that can destroy the gods—"
"You mean Bessie?" The demigod's ADHD kicked in at the best time, eyes wide and now standing at attention. "But she's too cute. She couldn't destroy the gods."
Artemis flipped Yang into the surf before she could gloat. By the time she returned to her senses, the clone in the water disappeared and she was offered her arm again. She simply blew a stray hair into alignment and took her place again, Yang seamlessly stringing them along, "What's the story there?"
"I found her in the bay stuck in a fishing net yesterday. You're not actually gonna kill her? She's innocent." Yang frowned, staying quiet. Perhaps that's where the power to topple gods came from: the dilemma between sacrificing an innocent for an advantage. Philosophy played a larger role here with metaphysics than she first gave any credit if gods were truly more then overpowered Hunters. She pulled her arm closer, whispering down to Artemis, "Don't alienate him. He's your ally, not a Hunter."
"No but I can turn him into a girl." Artemis relished the boy's flinch from her loud mutter and then reflexively flinched in turn from Yang's wandering and pinching fingers. "Call the Ophiotaurus to the Camp's bay. I must report to my father about its capture."
"No! He'll just kill her."
"The Titans kill the Ophiotaurus and Olympus topples. What would you have me do?" Artemis asked, Yang tightening her hold. It seemed even immortals could learn, shirking her demand for a request.
"Send her to my father. He'll protect her."
"My father would never give his brother such a valuable bargaining chip." Her reply froze the air around them, Yang driving it back with a blast of her Aura. Yang twitched and Artemis stopped the incoming pinch this time. "I will vote in favor of keeping the creature contained on Olympus and you will keep it here under we make a decision."
Perseus reluctantly nodded. "Now go, I must make my report." He dipped into the surf to call Bessie forth, leaving the pair alone. The moon brightened and Yang brought her into a hug. It took a few seconds for Artemis return the hold, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Why do you complicate my life so?"
"Because you're learning to lead rather than demand. Understand that Perseus doesn't care for Olympus because they're his gods; he cares for his father and this Camp. Today, you extended an olive branch because you asked for his help and you'll see those rewards bear fruit in the future."
"And if I can't protect the Ophiotaurus?" Yang rested her chin on her head.
"Your effort speaks louder than your success but you must remind Olympus that Jackson is the Camp's voice. Don't invite rebellion and unrest in your military for pride, not on the eve of war with a far larger fighting force."
"My father demands loyalty and will ask for Jackson's death for ignoring him. With Grace's birthday fast approaching after the solstice, he'll be particularly difficult to persuade."
"Then you must ask whether serving under a regime willing to kill children is worth it." Artemis looked up sharply, unable to believe what she just heard. "Divinity doesn't excuse unfettered power, demanding temperance in equal measure. Can Olympus claim a right to rule when it ensures loyalty through pain of death?"
"Your words are treason." Her hair shadowed the moonbeams striking her face.
"I have no loyalty to Olympus, only to you at the moment. You give my girls a chance to heal without demanding my subservience. I didn't have to accept your offer but I saw how you treated your girls and they follow you because they believe you're worth following. Now ask yourself what Olympus offers the Camp for their loyalty, why their children follow their orders?"
Artemis leaned down to press her forehead into Yang's collarbone. Camp Half-Blood survived for eons and she never bothered questioning them, assuming it'd always stand as a place for her Hunt to rest. Even that she suspected Chiron only allowed because she was a goddess, fearing her retaliation. Her Hunt offered nothing, antagonizing their archers, feuding with Aphrodites' children, and then leaving after kicking their collective asses in a mock battle. "I don't know."
"Then please be careful. Everyone's expendable in a reign of fear, you included."
"My father loves me." Artemis protested.
"Then he'll have no reason to ignore you then." Yang's warmth couldn't chase away the shivers running down her spine.
She burrowed deeper into her hug, shaking free her dark thoughts, "No, he shouldn't." The waves lapped at their feet as the minutes flew by, Artemis digging her nails into yellow shields. Nothing she did squashed the spark of doubt gnawing at her heart. A low hum joined the wind, Yang swaying them slowly side from side. Her worries drained from her shoulders, taking advantage of the taller woman to keep them standing. "I never did thank you for saving Zoë's life."
"No problem. Blake's taken a shine to her and she's your daughter." Yang's infectious smile quirked her lips up in turn.
"You fought a Titan to keep her safe." Artemis snaked a hand free, cupping Yang's chin and running her thumb along her cheek. She leaned in just an inch before catching herself, stepping away with a sad smile, faint gold dusting across her face and neck. "Thank you… Yang."
Artemis burst into a flare of moonlight, leaving Yang alone on the beach. She chuckled sharply, looking up at the partial sphere burning bright to match its mistress. It seemed she still had a thing for redheads with silver eyes.