Page 37 of Lunar Bound
He had never encountered a being so… Poppy. There were no adequate human words to describe her. The earthlings had not mastered a language that could encompass everything she represented. Poppy was like the perfect blend of shadows shifting across the distant landscape, an endless night of beauty. She was the dot of stars, steady and fixed in the night sky to guide him where he needed to go.
The humans seemed to grasp a concept better than his kind. They called it love. But even that word didn’t seem big enough to carry the full weight of what it defined.
Poppy.
Love.
He wanted to get back to her, to be in her orbit.
His shadow senses detected no immediate threats, but the situation remained precarious. Milano had demonstrated resources beyond standard Earth military capabilities. They would not abandon their hunt easily.
As he circled back toward the cabin, Lunar found himself considering futures he'd never imagined. His mission parameters had become irrelevant the moment Poppy had seen through his shadow concealment.
The shadow territories needed his intelligence about Earth. The brewing conflict on Zorveya demanded every tactical advantage. Yet standing here in Earth's darkness, sensing Poppy's warm presence in the cabin ahead, Lunar felt the certainties of his existence fragmenting. Earth no longer felt like a place to be used. It was no longer a distant objective. These humans deserved more than to be a military advantage for a distant planet.
When he returned to the cabin, he found Rowan positioned by the window. Eclipse's stone still glowed faintly in her open hand, like she was trying to decipher messages from it. Poppy had made a meal out of Mack's supplies.
"Anything?" Poppy asked as he entered. She gestured to the table where a bowl of food waited.
"No immediate threats," Lunar reported. "But we should not become complacent.”
Flowing through the night had greatly increased his energy levels, and he did not require the food for substance, but still, he came to sit beside her.
“Rowan, if you’re hungry…” Poppy called to her friend.
They ate in relative silence. Rowan picked at her food, her attention clearly elsewhere. The weight of unspoken fears filled the small space. Poppy kept glancing at Lunar, questions evident in her expression but unvoiced.
"I need some air." Rowan stood abruptly, moving toward the door. "I'll maintain watch from outside."
"The temperature is dropping," Poppy cautioned. "At least take the blanket from the cot."
Rowan accepted the advice with a grateful nod and slipped outside, Eclipse's stone clutched against her chest like a talisman.
Alone with Poppy, Lunar felt the atmosphere shift. The pretense of tactical discussion fell away, leaving only the connection that hummed between them like a living thing.
"We have to find out what happened to him. She won't survive losing him," Poppy said quietly, staring at the closed door. "The way she holds that stone... It's like that is the only thing keeping her together."
"Eclipse is resourceful," Lunar replied, though the words felt hollow. "If anyone can survive Milano's interrogation, it would be him."
“So you think Milano has him for sure?” Poppy asked. “Maybe he’s hiding in the cave?”
Lunar reached out to take her hand. “He would have come to us if he could have. He would have followed my signature. The more time that passes, the more likely it is that he was captured. I can’t feel him in the night.”
Poppy turned to face him fully, firelight dancing across her features. "And if Galaxy Brides comes back for you? What then? Will you go home with Solar?"
That was the very question he'd been avoiding. It hung between them like a physical presence. Lunar found himself moving closer, drawn by forces that had nothing to do with shadow manipulation or tactical advantage.
"My mission parameters have become complicated," he admitted.
"Because of me?" Poppy asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.
"Because of what you represent," Lunar clarified, reaching out to trace the curve of her cheek with shadowy fingers. "A possibility I had not considered. A future that diverges from everything I was created to be."
Damn these Earth words. He couldn’t find the right ones to explain.
Poppy leaned into his touch, her warmth creating those familiar patterns where their energies met. "You were created to be a shadow operative. But maybe you can choose to be something more."
"Choice," Lunar repeated, testing the word. "Shadow-dwellers are not encouraged to embrace such concepts."
