Fourteen Moons

I stare at Revus and lose focus as I slowly bring my hands to my head. Why? I can remember everything else. My life in Svelta. My siblings, my parents, my co-workers. What I did on a daily basis, my experiences growing up. My heart races and an uncomfortable sweat builds on my body as I panic. So why can’t I remember my name!? It’s… It’s… gone?

Suddenly I feel a hand on my head. I flinch as I look up and see Revus with a warm smile on his face. He then pulls his hand away from me and makes a yellow sphere around me. What is this? I tilt my head at him in confusion. He makes a bitter smile, removes the barrier, and kneels down to my height. As Revus wraps his arms around me and pulls me in tightly, he whispers something into my ear. Even though we cannot understand one another, the kindness present in his voice, and actions, convey the meaning of his words.

I whimper a soft, “Thank you,” as tears fill my eyes and I bury my face into his shoulder.

I continue to cry as Revus holds me for several moments, but eventually I calm down. I stare at the wooden surface of the table, still in a daze. I hear Revus get up and walk away. I turn toward him to see what he is doing and watch as he pulls out two wooden sticks from among the drawers in the wooden cabinets lining the walls. What’s he grabbing?

Both are similar in design, having a long, flat structure that fits within his hand. The difference between the two is that one has a smooth, cupped end, while the other has three thin prongs at the tip. It looks like tableware.

“Evetta,” Revus calls with a wave of his hand. I stare at him for a second. “Evetta,” he repeats, raising an eyebrow. Evetta… Right, I guess that’s my name… I sluggishly slide out of the chair, and trudge toward him. Once in front of the dark-haired man, he kneels down and pokes me in the forehead with the cupped utensil. 

“Ow,” I reflexively complain as I place a hand on my forehead.

He holds up the small weapon, and says a word in his strange language, “Hurēē.” Is that how he says spoon?

I stare at him, blinking a couple of times. Okay… I think I see what’s going on here. “Hu-rry?” I reply, trying to mimic his pronunciation.

Revus jabs my forehead with the spoon again. I attempt to swat the tool away, but he moves too quickly for me to react in time. He smirks and repeats, “Hurēē,” while holding up the cupped utensil.

I sigh, and try to pronounce the word for the cupped utensil in his language, “Hury.”

Revus pokes my forehead again and says, “Zōōd.” Another new one…

“Hu-rēē,” Revus states slowly, enunciating each syllable.

“H-huree,” I whisper, trying not to say it wrong.

Revus cups his ear and pokes my forehead again. He glares at me, and whispers, “Hurēē,” while making an annoyed face. He then almost yells, “Hurēē!”

That’s what I said! I humph from my nose, irritated by his actions. I said it right, why’re you getting so mad?

He jabs my forehead once more and points to the spoon while we stare daggers at each other.

“Hurēē!” I yell as I lift my leg and stomp on his foot.

Revus turns his head, exhales, faces me again, and then holds up the other utensil he took from the counter, “Vorēē.”

“Vohry,” I answer as confidently as possible, but, upon seeing Revus’ displeased face, place one of my hands over my forehead. I use the other to hold my blanket up.

Revus sighs, biting his lip. “Vo-rēē,” he says, a bit slower this time.

“Uh…” I avert my eyes, grip my fur blanket tighter, and answer, “Vari.”

“Vorēē!” Revus bellows. He puts down the utensils, rubs his temples with his hands, and mumbles something else. Geez, no reason to go so upset. I’m trying, alright. He sighs, and then holds the two utensils out in front.

“Vorēē. Hurēē. Vorēē. Hurēē. Vorēē. Hurēē.” He repeats as he raises them one at a time. I try to mimic the words to the best of my ability. The two of us continue this in his language for a moment until finally, with a somewhat content look, Revus puts the utensils down on the counter. I smile. Glad that’s over with.

Revus murmurs something else, walks back over to the table, pulls his chair out, and sits down. What now? I watch as he stands up, sits back down, and starts to repeat the action. So are we sitting or standing now? Revus says, “Mīīz,” as he sits down on the chair. He stands up not saying anything, and then sits once again and repeats the word.

That doesn’t sound like a hard one. “Mice,” I declare. Revus stares at me with a furrowed brow, and whispers something under his breath. I’m pretty sure I said it right. Why are you staring at me like that? “Mice,” I bark.

Revus closes his eyes and sharply exhales from his nose. He then points to the other chair and sternly commands, “Mīīz.” I tilt my head in confusion. Wait, I thought that meant to sit down? Is the word actually for the chair? Revus exhales heavily again, “Evetta, mīīz.”

“Oh.” I mutter as I walk over to the chair. I sit down and situate my blanket so it will not fall. So it was sit, he just wanted ME to sit down.

I sigh as I look at Revus. I watch closely as he stands up, walks over to the countertop, and begins to grab a mixture of items from various places around the room. He creates a fire that hovers under a pot, and then uses a knife to cut meat and some vegetable-looking ingredients.  He places them into the pot and begins to stir. Oh, he’s cooking. Food actually doesn’t sound so bad right now. I continue to watch him as he works, and, after a while, he finishes.

When he returns to the table, he has two bowls of food and spoons with him. He places one in front of me, before sitting down in his chair.

In the bowl is a thin, golden broth, cubed pieces of meat, chunks of yellow-white cubes, and some leafy green produce. This looks like a fancy soup. A wonderful aroma rises from the bowl. Smells good too.

I grab the spoon and, as best that I can, say, “Hurēē.” Revus smiles slightly. I grin in response, and then use the spoon to grab some of the thin broth and a piece of meat. I put it in my mouth and am greeted with a smooth texture and rich flavor. I glance up at Revus, who is watching me intently, and mutter, “Thanks.”

He grabs his spoon, prepares to take a bite, and, just before he puts it into his mouth, boldly says, “Zell.”

I’m not doing this right now. I pull my spoon to my mouth and continue eating, ignoring Revus’ glares. Before every bite he takes, he repeats the word “Zell.” Try as I might to ignore him I, with there being no sound other than of us eating, am forced to listen to the grating repetition of “Zell. Zell. Zell.”

I’m almost done eating, just keep ignoring him.

“Zell. Zell. Zell. Zell.” Revus starts saying the word much more frequently.

I stare at my bowl as I feel my face heat up. Ignore him. Just ignore him.

“Zell. Zell. Zell. Zell. Zell. Zell.”

Revus’ barrage continues until I explode, “Sell!” I yell before continuing in Sveltish, “Geez, now shut and let me eat!” I look up at him and notice that he is no longer eating. He instead has his hands placed under his chin and is smirking at me. I look away from him and resume eating.

“Zell. Zell. Zell.” Revus starts repeating the word every time I take a bite.

I briefly stop eating the soup and glance at him without raising my head. His smirk has turned into a full-toothed smile. I sigh deeply and begin repeating the word before every bite until I finish the bowl.

Once finished, I get up and carry my dirty bowl and spoon to the sink, and leave them there. I’m not washing these. I humph from my nose before tilting my head. Hang on, there’s no faucet here. So how are we supposed to wash these? I look at Revus who is walking  up next to me. He places his stuff into the sink, and then turns to walk away.  As he leaves, he glances back at me, and waves for me to follow him. 

I follow behind him as we walk over to the beds and dressers in the back corner of the room across from the kitchen area. “Evetta, mīīz,” Revus says, pointing at one of the beds. After climbing onto the bed, I watch as Revus uses one hand to grab onto his shirt, and says, “Shaboks.”

I tilt my head to the side as I look up at him. Okay… Shirt? Outfit? It isn’t the word for naked, right? My face starts to get warm.

Revus sighs, placing a hand over his face. I watch as he walks over to the wooden dressers by the beds, opens one, pulls something out, and faces toward me. In one hand is a light-brown shirt, and in the other is a dark-brown pair of pants. He holds them up and says the word, “Shaboks,” again.

“Oh!” I exclaim as I begin to understand.

Revus repeats the word as he pulls the clothes away. Figures. I sigh, “Shaboch.”

“Shaboks,” Revus emphasizes as he holds the garments up right in front of me. 

I look down and see that the clothes are quite a bit bigger than I am. I look back to Revus and reply, “Shabokz.”

“Shabok-s… s,” Revus emphasizes, slowly. He then goes back to the dresser and swaps the garments.

“Shaboks,” I mimic as he returns to me with a gray shirt and light-brown pants. Both articles are smaller in size, but still appear too big for me.

Revus looks down at me with a slightly concerned face. He starts chewing on his lower lip, dives back into the dresser drawers, and quickly pulls out two pieces of fabric. One is small and light-brown in color, the other is much larger and dark-brown. He carries them to the opposite side of the room, places them on a table, and begins rustling about. What’s he doing now? I continue to watch until he turns around, and works his way back over to me.

He presents two articles of clothing before me. The first is a tiny pair of underwear with a string in the hem. The other is a flowy dress of sorts that is missing a large portion of its backside. The dress looks a little big for me, but is the closest thing to matching my size out of everything Revus presented to me.

“Evetta shaboks,” Revus states as he drops them on my lap. I look up at him and he makes a body movement as if he is putting on clothes.

He doesn’t mean here, right? I shake my head as my face gets warm. I place my hands between my legs and look down, away from Revus’ eyes. I mean… he’s already seen me like that, but still, it’s embarrassing. 

I glance at Revus, who has made his way over to the third door in the room, the one that leads to the washroom. He points at the door and repeats, “Evetta, shaboks.”

“Oh, right,” I mutter in Sveltish. Duh...

I exhale as I shake my head again, trying to get rid of my embarrassment.

Revus opens the door and creates a small light within the room before I go inside. Once Revus closes the door, I scan the room. With more light in the room than before, I see a row of cabinets with a sink in the middle of them, a bowl-like structure that I believe to be some kind of toilet, and a large bathtub. 

I place the clothes on a small cabinet, remove the blanket, and look down at my petite body. Okay, I can do this. It’s fine, this is my body. I take several deep breaths as I slowly get dressed. I struggle to put the clothes on, but, once I have everything on, I feel a slightly unpleasant feeling from my stomach. Oh no… Right, I forgot. Being a girl now means that… I look over at the toilet and bite my lip.

After I use the toilet, I dress myself again and drag myself back to the door, open it, and wobble around Revus toward the beds. I probably shouldn’t go to sleep if I need to pee. I dive face first onto the soft surface, and plant my face into a pillow. I can’t believe I just did that… And I’m going to have to do that everytime now…

Silence fills the room for a while before Revus says something, but I fail to make out his words. I feel a hand touch my shoulder and I lift my head to see Revus’ worried face. “Evetta?” he inquires.

I turn away from him and return my face to its soft prison. I really am a girl now.

I hear Revus get up and walk away, sounding like he is heading toward the kitchen. Maybe he’s going to wash the dishes? I turn away from the pillow and see Revus’ bare back. His clothes are also missing a large portion from the backsi- Wait, didn’t he have wings earlier!?

I rapidly spring from the bed and land on my feet. “Revus!” I call as I race over to him, the dress swaying as I move. This is pretty embarrassing to move in. He turns around at my call. I look up at him as he stares down at me.

“Um,” I mutter. Okay, how do I ask him about his wings… I turn my back to him, point to it, and repeat, “Revus.”

“Ah,” he chuckles, “Fāāv.” Fayve? He takes a step away from me, and smiles. A second later, tiny, black wings sprout from his back and grow, becoming large, pitch-black, and butterfly-like in shape. There are four in total with two large upper wings, and two smaller, lower ones. They are black in color, but have transparent vein-like patterns throughout them, with each vein having a circle at its end. A faint yellow shimmer pulses through the transparents designs, making his wings seem as though they are breathing. Small specks of black and gold dust fall from them which catches the light in the room and creates a beautiful, glittering effect.

He flaps his wings once and the dust spreads throughout the room, making the whole of it shimmer and glow brightly. Oh. My jaw slacks as I stare at the glistening room. I reach out and grab a small bit of the slowly falling dust. It twinkles faintly for a few seconds before it fades away. “Wow,” I mutter as I look back up at Revus, “Beautiful.” He raises an eyebrow.

I reach my hand out to touch Revus’ wings, but he pulls them away. “Ah,” I whine dejectedly. He makes a bitter smile, says something and shakes his head. I lower my gaze toward the floor. But.. they’re so pretty.

Suddenly, I feel a hand on my head. Looking back up, I see Revus kneeling down in front of me, his wings already gone. He stares me in the eyes and says, “Evetta fāāv.”

I furrow my eyebrows and tilt my head. Evetta wings? What’s that supposed to mean? I like them… I mean, yeah they’re pretty, but-

Revus pokes my forehead with his finger, pulling me out of my thoughts. He grabs my shoulders and turns me around. I twist my neck to watch him as he places his finger against my back and repeats, “Evetta fāāv.”

“No way,” I mutter in my native tongue. He can’t mean- I gesture toward myself with both hands. “I have fayve too?” I ask, mixing both languages into a single sentence.

Revus nods slowly, stands up, walks to the front door, and waves for me to follow him. I chase after him as he exits the door, but as I reach the doorway I freeze. My body begins to tremble as I remember my previous excursion outside. I can still see the remains of the giant worm outside of the house. I quickly hide behind the wall, poke my head out, and analyze Revus’ surroundings to ensure that it is safe before leaving.

Revus looks back at me and sighs. “Evetta,” he calls out.

I lock my eyes onto him and watch as he creates a yellow sphere around himself. It disappears and he motions for me to come toward him. Right. He protected me last time, so he’ll keep me safe again. I hope.

I hesitantly walk through the doorway, and race over to Revus’ side. He places his hand on my head causing me to look up and I realize that I am firmly clutching his pants. “Ah,” I murmur as I feel my body heat up. I instantly let go of them and take a step away. I can’t believe I was just grabbing him like that.

Looking around again, I notice that the sun is starting to set as the forest is slightly darker than it was before. The noises among the trees have become quieter and less frequent. The previously vibrant green colors of the vegetation are starting to be dyed with darker shades of black. Shadows cast from the trees are stretching out, consuming all of the light within various areas in the woodland. Even with the growing darkness, however, the wonder and beauty of my surroundings remains.

I look up and say, “Revus, fayve,” while tilting my head and furrowing my eyebrows.

Revus sits down on the ground, crosses his legs, and says “Rish.” I stare at him, blinking. Yeah, I’ve got no idea on this one… He stares at me, sighs, places his chin between his index finger and thumb, and slightly tilts his head while looking up. He then repeats, “Rish.”

I clench my lips together, squint my eyes, and continue to stare at him. He looks like he’s thinking? Well, maybe a bit exaggerated so, is the word supposed to be “think”? Maybe “imagine” or “remember”.

Then, Revus adds the previous word to create the first sentence I can piece together, “Evetta rish fāāv.”

If that word’s supposed to be think. Then that should mean, “Evetta think wings.” Think wings? As in imagine I have wings? I close my eyes. Wings… wings… I have wings… Suddenly, I feel a weird sensation on my back.

“Evetta,” Revus calls out. I open my eyes to see him staring at me with a slight smile. I match his gaze, but see something white twitch out of the corner of my eye. Swiftly turning my head, I discover a thin, white, butterfly-like membrane. It moves behind me as I twirl around. 

Are those… MY wings? I stop spinning, turn my head as far back as I can, and try to look at whether the wings are coming directly from my back. Analyzing the edge of one of them, I trace its perimeter and realize that it is coming from my back. “I have wings,” I mutter in Sveltish. My eyes widen and I look at Revus. He tries to suppress a laugh as I giggle, “I have wings!”

I focus on my wings again, trying to completely take in their appearance. They are more rounded than Revus’, and, unlike the pitch-black color of his, are pristine white. Mine also lack the patterns and yellow shimmer that his have. They do, however, have their own silvery dust radiating from them. My wings… my wings… I joyfully twirl around, watching the dust dance off my wings, but stop short and look at Revus. He cannot help but let out a short laugh now.

I look up at the darkening forest canopy and fix my eyes on the fragments of evening sky scattered throughout the foliage. With wings, I should be able to… I look back at my wings which move slightly. Okay, just need to get them to move, and I should be able to fly.

I attempt to get my wings to move, but they do not respond, other than a slight twitch. Huh? I look over at Revus and see him sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and eyes closed. Is he sleeping?

“Revus?” I call out curiously as I walk over to him.

“Hmm?” He hums, opening his eyes. I guess not.

“Nothing,” I comment in Sveltish, and return to trying to get my wings to respond.

Over the following hours, I attempt to flap my wings, but, unfortunately, I am unsuccessful. While I practice moving my newfound limbs, Revus remains on the ground, silently watching over me. Occasionally, he closes his eyes and appears to be napping.  Night has come and darkness blankets the forest, causing the wildlife to go silent. The gentle wind and the soft rustling of leaves are the only remaining source of noise.

Again, I’ll get it this time. I concentrate on the feeling of moving my wings and finally manage to get them to flutter a single time. Frustratedly, I drop to my knees and place my hands on the ground. Why? I slam my tiny hand into the ground, “Dang it!”  Why is this so difficult… I just want to fly… I just want to-

“Evetta,” I hear Revus call. Looking up, I see him standing up from his cross-legged position. He points toward the house and motions for me to follow him.

I exhale, and steady my breathing to try to calm down. I get back onto my feet and notice that the already long shadows have overtaken the whole ground. I guess it is pretty dark now… I look back up toward the night-bleached canopy and sigh. One day, I’ll get to see it.

I walk over to Revus who is staring at me with his intense, yellow eyes. The contrast between the dark night and his gold-hued irises, combined with his large physique, give him an intimidating aura.

As I try to walk inside, he holds his hand out in front of me to prevent my entry. I look up at him, and he says, “Fediv.”

I tilt my head back and sigh. What is it this time? Returning my focus to him, he pokes my forehead. Wha-  He opens the door and points inside, and then repeats the word, “Fediv.”

“Fidif?” I try to replicate the odd pronunciation.

He sighs, heads inside and repeats the word again, “Fediv.”

“Ugh,” I humph, “Why must this language be a pain in the butt?” I lower my head and place my hand on my forehead then sigh, “Vediv.”

Revus walks inside, heads to the kitchen, and starts preparing things for another meal. “Fe-div,” he continues, slower than before.

“Fe-div,” I answer as I take a seat on a soft, cushioned chair located near the door opposite the kitchen. As I relax on the comfortable chair, a sharp chill runs down my spine and spreads throughout my body. I wrap my arms around myself and stare out the window toward the sky. I wonder if I’ll be able to fly tomorrow? I smile longingly. Well, I’ll have all day to try- Wait, what am I thinking? I need to figure out what happened to me.

“Revus!” I holler as I jump off of the chair and rush toward him, grabbing onto his shirt to get his attention.

“Evetta?” Revus replies curiously. He stops cutting the meat into strips, and turns his attention toward me.

I stare up at him. Right… How am I supposed to ask him when we can barely talk? I watch as Revus scratches the back of his head and sighs. I let go of his shirt, turn away, and, as I walk back toward the soft chair, mutter quietly, “Nevermind… I’ll ask you later.”

“Tch,” Revus clicks his tongue and starts walking. As I turn to face him, he walks past me and ends at the dressers. Now what’s going through his head? After a moment, he pulls out a gray robe-like article of clothing and another pair of underwear. Then, he heads toward the washroom and calls, “Evetta,” motioning for me to follow. As I head over to him, he says another new word, “Vorch.”

“Fork?” I ask.

Revus opens the door to the washroom and heads inside. I follow after him. He points to the bathtub, and repeats, “Vorch.” Then, he places the clothes he grabbed on the counter, and begins to motion as if cleaning himself.

Gotcha, so washing yourself is “Forch”. “F-forch,” I stutter as I try to pronounce the word.

Revus holds out his hands, and then steamy water starts to flow from them. Oh thank the stars, it’s really cold in here. While filling the bathtub, he says “Vorch,” once more.

“Vorch,” I reply as I watch the tub fill with water. Well, it might be different, but at least I’ll get to clean myse- Wait, taking a bath means I’ll be naked… Immediately, my eyes widen as I feel my heart speed up and my body temperature increase. Well, at least I’m not cold anymore. 

“Evetta?” Revus calls out, waving his hand in front of my face.

“Ah, yeah?” I reflexively answer, turning to look at him.

“Vorch,” he replies, pointing to the steamy water. He pulls some items from the cabinet in the room. One, a cloth, the others, two small jars. He hands me the jars and does the scrubbing motion again. Then he points to them.

I look at the two jars, examining the powder within. Is this supposed to be soap? I face Revus and say, “Thanks.” He places his hand under his chin, smiles, and then places the cloth down atop my clothes before leaving the room.

I stare at the door and exhale loudly. I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I take deep breaths as I start to remove my clothes. Once done, I climb into the tub and, as I do so, avoid looking at myself as much as possible. Ah… so warm… My body slowly loses its shiver as the hot water envelopes it. This is nice… I soak in the tub for a bit before reaching for the jars of powder. Opening one, I pour some of its contents into my hand. I wet the soft powder, rub my hands together, and watch as it becomes frothy. Huh, there’s no smell. I begin to lather my limbs and, as I slowly wash my body, do my best to avoid looking at myself. I know it’s my body, but it’s still so weird…

After finishing my bath, I climb out, dry myself off with the cloth Revus left on my clothes, and then get dressed. The gray robe drags along behind me as it is a bit bigger than the dress I was previously wearing. However, it is not as large as the robe that I walked through the forest with. I hope Revus doesn’t get mad that I lost that other robe.

As I finish dressing, I feel my wet hair drip down onto my shoulders. How am I supposed to dry my hair now that it’s so long? I know mom used to wrap her hair with a towel but… I look at the cloth in my hands. How do I do that? I repeatedly attempt to wrap my hair in the cloth, and put it on my head, but it keeps falling off. Yep… I give up. I wipe my dripping hair with the towel to remove the majority of the water, and leave it like that. Good enough.

I open the washroom door and see Revus sitting at the table with two plates of food already set. Seeing him like that, he doesn’t seem like such a bad guy. Upon seeing me, Revus’ calm face becomes vexed. I wince as he glares at me. What’d I do now?

Revus stands up, moves a chair next to him, and sighs, “Evetta mīīz,” with irritation present in his voice.

I walk over and take a seat on the chair. Revus remarks something that I fail to understand, and warm air starts blowing against my head. Ahhh… I chuckle lightly. So he was mad that I didn’t dry my hair?After sitting like that for a moment, my hair eventually dries and Revus returns to his seat. “Thanks,” I mutter as I avert my gaze from him.

Revus politely responds, “Shīīsh prīīn.” My gaze quickly snaps back to him, mouth agape. Did he just… His shoddy smirk causes me to smile. Guess that means “you’re welcome”. He continues, “Zell.” With only that word, I move my chair back to its original spot, and the two of us start to eat. 

Instead of soup, this time it is some kind of light pink meat, and an assortment of vegetables in various colors. The food is arranged nicely, with everything already cut up so that I can focus on eating. What is this? It tastes… different? The meat has a rich, strong flavor and a tender texture, while the vegetables nearly perfectly compliment the meat. Unlike our previous meal, Revus does not continuously say “zell”, but instead, quietly works his way through his food. Occasionally I glance up at him, and see him watching me. Why’s he just staring at me?

With dinner done, Revus takes my plate over to the sink, and I return to the soft chair under the window. Looking out at the canopy, I look to the sky once more, and notice a handful of lights poking through the trees. I sit there for a moment, silently gazing at the tiny stars. One of them catches my eye, for it is much brighter, and vastly larger than the rest. I wonder why that star looks different? Unlike the other stars, this one occupies its own fragment of sky within the canopy. Wait, I read about this… is that… a moon?

“Evetta,” I hear Revus say. Turning my head, I see him standing in front of the door, holding the fur blanket I was using earlier today. Looking at him, I tilt my head and sigh. He’s not planning on going outside right now, is he? He motions for me to follow him as he heads outside. I meet up with him and immediately feel a bitter cold sweep over me. As I start to shiver, Revus wraps the blanket around me. I look up at my stern-faced guide as he leads me away from the door. Now what?

He bends down and places one arm behind my back while placing the other behind my legs. Hang on. He’s not planning on- Revus mutters something as his glorious wings erupt from his back and he lifts me into his arms.

“Hey, wait!” I shout as he pulls against his chest. So close… My body starts to heat up once again as my heart races. I glare at him and plead, “You wouldn’t.”

Revus returns my gaze with a smirk, and then looks up as we shoot into the air.

“Aaaaaaaaah,” I scream as we soar through the air, “W-where are we going?”

Revus remains silent as he concentrates on flying. I feel the cool night air brush against my face as my eyes try to focus on the blurry scenery rushing by. Are we going… up? Slowly, the star-filled patches of night sky grow larger as we ascend through the thick forest. Eventually, we fly through a gap in the canopy and leave the confines of the woodland below.

The scene that follows causes my mouth to open in awe. The vastness of the clear, open sky and the endless dots that paint it, cause it to seemingly continue forever. Within the field of light, there are four larger, round lights, like the one I saw from the window. Each larger light is a different color, consisting of pink, green, yellow, and white. The white one glows by far the brightest, as it illuminates much of the night sky. Time feels as though it has stopped as I absorb the mystifying scene. 

“Wow,” I mutter, in disbelief, at the serene expanse before me. 

I look about, taking in the majesty of the still night as my eyes dance from one part of the sky to another. Tears begin to blur my vision as I pull my arms out from within the blanket, and reach out toward the stars. The sky… it’s more incredible than I thought it’d be. As my hand slowly moves toward the large, glowing, white light, I begin to slip from Revus’ arms.

 “A-” Nearly as quickly as it happens, Revus yells out and pitches forward to prevent my fall. I quickly grab onto anything that I can hold on to. I look up at Revus, and he stares back at me. His deep, yellow eyes cause me to blush. “I’m Sor-” Realizing what I am doing, I release my grip on his shirt and turn away from him. What am I doing? I’m a guy…  I groan. …was a guy. I look back at the large, glowing, white light.

“Revus,” I call out. I point at the bright light and ask, in Sveltish, “Is that a moon?” I doubt he’ll understand my question, but still… I have to ask.

Revus stares at the large, white light and answers, “Trāāt.” He then looks at the tiny specks of light and says, “Lenas.”

Moon, stars… “Trayt. Leniz.” I mutter, trying to copy his pronunciation.

Revus sighs, and slowly shakes his head, “Trāāt. Lenas.”

I chuckle, look back at the moon, and then the stars, and repeat, “Trayt. Leniz.”

As I rest in his arms, I stare at the beautiful, yet unbelievable, scene before me and smile. Well, there’s still a lot of things I don’t know, but after seeing this… I look up at Revus who is staring at the stars. I’ll ask him about things later.

My smile fades as I feel a cold shiver run through my body. I guess we should head back. “Revus, vediv.” I say, burying myself in the blanket.

Revus looks down at me, says something, and then sighs, “Fediv.”

“Fediv,” I giggle, noting his defeated look.

With that, Revus smiles and starts to descend. I take one last contented look at the moons and stars before the foliage from the trees blocks them out. Once I learn to fly, I’ll get to come back whenever I want. We briskly make our way back through the sleeping woods until we arrive in front of the house.

Revus gently lands and puts me down. We begin to head to the house, but I stop and briefly stare at the door, and then gaze up at the night-drenched tree. It’s nothing like my previous house… but at least I won’t be lonely.

Revus opens the door and, as I follow him inside, I yawn. As I close the door behind me, Revus turns around and says “Jōōl.” I furrow my eyebrows. No idea what that one was. He sighs, walks to the corner of the room, lays down on a bed, and repeats the word, “Jōōl.”

“Ah,” I nod my head, and then continue in Sveltish, “Yeah, today was a long day.” 

Revus points to the other bed and says, “Evetta, jōōl.”

“Thanks,” I reply as I walk over to the other bed. I climb onto the bed, place my head against the soft pillow, pull the fluffy blanket tightly around me, and sink into it. I roll onto my side and watch as Revus gets up and walks into the kitchen. I close my eyes and yawn, “Good night Revus,” in my original tongue.

“Good night Evetta,” Revus replies in Sveltish. I smile.