Wake up!
Owlowiscious jolted awake at the silent command, throwing his blanket off with one wing and grasping his sword with the other. There was no need for his eyes to adjust to the darkness; he had been asleep for several hours, and it was not close to morning yet. His surroundings included his sword and jacket, neatly folded beside the futon he was sleeping in, a second futon containing the still sleeping Peewee, a small lantern that had been put out hours ago, the wooden walls of the outside of Winona's house, and the two interior walls made of wood and paper, one with a sliding screen.
Aside from his own breathing, everything else was quiet.
Focusing for a moment, Owlowiscious reached out with his magic, the air around him wavering imperceptibly with carefully released power. And then he released his grip on his sword, stood and quietly made his way into the large main room, being sure to close the screen behind him. The main room reminded him of his own house, in a way, being large and square with a fire pit in the center, although unlike his, this was large enough to be effectively used on all four sides at once, and he imagined there must have been days or nights when the room was filled with family and friends. Not far from the fire, reduced to little more than a single, glowing ember, were three more futons. Two were occupied by Ryder and her grandmother, Granny Earthwalker (and as best as Owlowiscious had been able to deduce, her name actually was Granny Earthwalker). The third was suspiciously empty.
Moving quietly past them and to the screen at the front of the house, he slipped outside. A glance down the long porch to one side revealed only the night, but a glance to the other side revealed a figure sitting down on the steps that rose from the ground. Approaching quietly, he wove his magic one more time, conjuring a small, glowing orb from the aether, bathing the area in pale moonlight. The figure looked behind it when the glow appeared, surprised at being found.
“Owlowiscious?” Winona asked quietly, almost hissing. In an instant, her attention was drawn towards the orb that hovered near the owl's head as he walked. “Is, is that, f-fox fire?” Owlowiscious was still in the clothes he'd traveled in, but at some point, Winona had changed into a dark blue night robe, which she had pulled just a bit tighter when she realized she was no longer alone.
But to her question, Owlowiscious shook her head. “Kitsune-bi, what you call fox fire, is enchanted to draw you towards it once you see it. This is just a little trick so we don’t need a lantern.” With a careful flick of his wing, the orb departed from him and settled just outside the porch, floating in the air. “I’m sorry if my presence here is keeping you awake. You must have had an awful experience with the last one.”
“Not-not really. Last Demon Queller out here was, well, professional, I guess. Showed up, asked a couple o’ questions, poked ‘round a bit, an’ then he was gone.”
Owlowiscious considered that for a moment, and then asked, “Do you mind if I sit?” Winona slid further to one side, allowing the owl to take a seat beside her. “I really don’t want to pry, since it’s not my business, but why didn’t you tell him where it was? He would’ve been furious if he found out you were hiding it from him.”
The shock on Winona’s face said far more than her words probably could have. “How did... how did you...” she stammered.
“You mentioned it, whatever it was, when I asked about the last Demon Queller. Don’t you remember?”
Shock gave way to confusion, and then relief. “Oh,” Winona replied, turning her gaze towards the ground in front of her. “Yeah. I guess I did.”
“Your melancholy’s not because of the Demon Queller, is it? It’s because of the reason he was out here in the first place.”
In response, Winona drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. I-I can't talk ‘bout that, Owlowiscious. I just can’t. Not with you, not with anybody. I just can’t.”
Owlowiscious watched Winona for a moment, and then with a sigh, turned his attention forward. Even with the dim light overhead, he could see Jindaiyama, or at least its outline in the distance. Heanvenspire was invisible in the night sky, and he noted that the moon was obscured by clouds and wonder if he might be able to see the city had it been visible. The thought of the moon drew his attention up to the floating orb of light, just above their heads. Looking up towards it, it looked like the full moon in the sky. He squeezed his eyes partway shut as he chased down another thought, and then a peaceful smile overtook his features. “Ms. Earthwalker —”
“Winona.” Momentary confusion was pushed away as the canine continued speaking. “I don’ care much for formalities, neither. If you’re jus’ Owlowiscious, then I’m jus’ Winona.”
“Well then, Winona, do you know the story of how the night came to be?” It was Winona’s turn to look confused, so Owlowiscious continued his line of thought. “The story of why you don’t see the sun and moon in the sky at the same time anymore.”
“Well...” Winona cocked her head to one side, trying to remember if she did know it or not. “No, I...” She looked up to the sky, seeing the glowing orb and how much it did look like the moon in the sky, before turning back to Owlowiscious. “Did they use t’ be?”
“Mmhm.” Owlowiscious shifted, angling himself to more fully face Winona, and then began the story. “Mukashi mukashi, long, long ago, before even the oldest of our ancestors walked on this earth, the Sun was the wife of the Moon, and they were always in the sky together, she performing her duties, and he, his. One day, the Sun’s cousin... well, her name doesn’t translate from its Classical form very smoothly, but Sustenance is pretty close. One day, Sustenance called for the Sun to join her for a feast, that they might discuss the future, and how they should guide the world. Unable to leave her duties, the Sun asked her husband, the Moon to go in her place, which he agreed to.
“When he arrived, Sustenance greeted him warmly and took him to the table. She then drank a small cup of water, and then spat out a boiled fish onto a plate.”
At this, Winona blanched. Owlowiscious just chuckled and continued his story.
“She then ate a pine needle, and spat out a roasted venison chop. A bit of daikon, and spat out vegetables, and finally a spikelet, and spat out rice into a bowl. The meal was absolutely exquisite, but the Moon was so disgusted by the way it was prepared that without even thinking, he drew his sword and cut Sustenance down where she stood.
“When the Sun found out what her husband had done, she was beside herself with fury. She condemned the Moon, vowing to never look upon him again, and then moved to a different part of the sky. Since then, the Sun and Moon have not been seen together in the sky. He would still plead with her though, sometimes appearing just above the horizon while she was high in the sky, begging her for forgiveness. After a very long time, she finally relented, and invited him to join her in the sky. While she was performing her duties, he came up to join her and visited her for a time before she sent him away again. He asked if he could return to her again later, and she agreed to consider it. Thus, we sometimes see the Moon just above the horizon in the day, when he pleads to be allowed to visit her, and rarely, we see him come out to visit with her during the day, which is where the eclipse comes from.”
A few moments of silence passed while Winona considered the story she'd heard. “Well, thanks for sharin’ that with me, Owlowiscious. But I can’t help but think there’s a lesson in there that I’m not quite hearin’.”
“Once, the Sun and Moon were always together,” Owlowiscious began, raising one primary feather from each wing towards the sky and bringing them together. “But a terrible event drove them apart.” His wings separated. “But after a time of contemplation and inner struggle, reconciliation brought them together again, however briefly.” Once more, his wings rejoined, and then he dropped them back down, folding them over one leg. “After a terrible thing happens, reconciliation, either with another or with yourself, however large or small it might be, only comes with time. Maybe today, you can’t talk about what happened. Maybe not tomorrow, either, or the day after, or the day after, or the day after. But one day, you’ll be ready, and on that day, you’ll be able to move past what happened.”
For another few moments, Winona was quiet, watching the ground in front of her. And then, a smile, however small, crept across her muzzle. “Peewee’s gonna turn into a fine young man, if that’s th’ kind o’ tutorin’ he gets from you.” And then, she leaned over and embraced the owl firmly. “Thanks.”
Owlowiscious was stunned for a moment, but then returned the embrace for a few seconds before he broke it. “I should get back to bed,” he said, rising from his seat on the step. “And so should you. We both still have plenty of work before the celebration. Good night, Winona.”
“Yeah. G’night, Owlowiscious.” Their farewells said, Owlowiscious turned and walked back towards the entrance before he was interrupted.
“Hey, Owlowiscious?”
The owl looked back over his shoulder with a ‘hm.’ Winona took in a deep breath before she continued speaking. “When I finally get ‘round t’ talkin’ t’ someone ‘bout what happened, d’you s’pose maybe I could talk t’ you?”
Owlowiscious smiled widely. “Of course. At worst, I’ll only be a letter away, or come find me in Heavenspire. The city guards all know where to find me.” One out of place detail caught his eyes, and with a wave of his wing, the glowing orb of light dissipated into nothingness. “Good night, again.”
With that final farewell, Owlowiscious entered the house again, and then stealthily returned to the futon he was sleeping on. For a few moments, he reflected on the moment of unity he shared with Winona, and how it contrasted with many of his interactions with the administrators in Heavenspire. As he drifted back to sleep, he noted than maybe coming to Taiyō-sen was something he needed as much as Peewee did.