The next few days, Sansa fell into the routine of the small household. A wandering male came and was treated for a rough scrape he had encountered in his travels.

Sansa showed Nova proper techniques to wrap such a wound, and in return, Nova showed Sansa various herbs from the region that could be applied.

Sansa was in awe of the female's knowledge.

It occurred to Sansa as the days of comfort passed, that she was wasting her time here. She should be going out and finding the real soothsayer that she had originally been searching for. But instead, Nova seemed almost like a...mother.

Sansa had never had a mother before. She had ignored Warren's words to her on their last day together when he finally revealed many of her parents' secrets. She had locked the knowledge away tightly. There was only so much she could handle, and the missing of Night had overwhelmed her mind.

Every time she thought of his name, a pain shot across her chest.

Even more painful was the slow approach of the Spring equinox.

Sansa knew that Nova wondered about her story. She could tell the female scented her loss. But at the same time, Sansa herself could smell the same lingering scent upon Nova.

Both females seemed to be suffering.

Sansa looked in sadness sometimes at Moon River. The child was silent and absorbed in the strangest things.

She spent an hour one time staring at nothing but a tree.

Sansa approached her, sitting next to her as she looked also.

"Why are you staring for so long?"

Moon River's eyes found Sansa's. Sansa wanted to shiver against the profoundness that seemed to encase the girl. She couldn't explain it. She knew something was different about her.

Her scent, the way she carried herself and how she stared at both Sansa and her own mother. All of it made Sansa even more curious.

"The light," Moon River pointed to the filtered light above that was shining down between the leaves.

"It's pretty," Sansa agreed.

"No," Moon River shook her head, staring up at the brightness. Sansa watched as the sun's ray caught on the startling white of her hair. How it filtered the blue of her eyes. "It's not."

"Oh..." Sansa leaned her head forward to stare at the light again, squinting her eyes to try and see fully.

"It hurts my eyes to stare at that for so long," Sansa admitted.

"I know," the girl whispered. Sansa felt a chill run through her body as Moon River turned to her, her blue eyes widening, "it hurts me too."

"Don't look at it then," Sansa scolded. She quickly turned Moon River around, letting them both face away from it.

"See, look? Now it doesn't hurt." She looked at Moon River to watch her reaction. The girl held up her hand letting it block one eye.

"What do you see?" Sansa whispered.

Moon River smiled. It was the first time Sansa had seen it. "Spots. Pretty spots."

Sansa felt exasperation at the child. "That's what happens when you stare at the sun for too long. Don't look at it directly, okay?"

"Pretty things should be looked at," Moon River said simply.

Sansa smiled, "Yes...I can't argue with that."

*   *   *

Late in the nights, when Moon River had gone to sleep, Sansa and Nova would stay up, a hot mug of tea in their hands as they whispered back and forth.

Sansa had been at the cabin past a week now. She felt at ease here. She felt as if she could acknowledge having a friend for the first time. She didn't want to admit this to Nova, however.

"Can I ask...Moon River...She seems..."

Instead of tensing up like she once would, Nova only signed and stared down at her mug.

"I know. I knew you would notice. You have stayed for so long...longer than I usually allow travelers...but you...you have such a-," Nova looked up to smile at Sansa, "such a healing soul. You are so nice to be around. It's soothing."

Sansa laughed, "Thank you. I wish I could agree."

"You should," Nova argued, a small smile coming to her lips, "you probably don't even realize just how nice you are to be with. I wonder if you have an evil bone in your body sometimes."

A sudden flashback came to Sansa of Tryton. She had forgotten of the male she had encountered in the woods, but something he had said...he had said something that came back to her now from Nova's words- but there is something darker. No amount of such light can go completely pure without having a stain of the shadows.

"Nova I...That reminded me," Sansa picked up her mug, taking a sip before inhaling, "I met someone in my travels...actually it was the person who showed me the way to this place...his looks...I thought he might have just been older, but after seeing Moon River..."

"He had white hair and pale blue eyes?" Nova's voice had gone very quiet.

Sansa nodded slowly, watching the female's reaction.

Nova thought over her words, staring down at the table.

"It makes sense then. The Moon led you here. That means there is a reason for you and I to meet. Something deeper taking place from our encounter."

"The Moon lead me?"

Nova looked up then, all seriousness in her face as she said, "the male you met- he was Moon Blessed. Just like how Moon River is."

Sansa felt shock resonate in her head at the words.

"Moon...blessed?"

Nova nodded her head, a sorrow coming slowly to her face.

Without thinking, Sansa reached across the table to take her friend's hand.

Nova smiled at the action, softly patting Sansa's fingers. "Thank you," she said.

The female looked out the window, taking in the night. The branches of the trees covered up the sight of the moon before them, but the white glow could still be detected.

"I'm convinced now that I can tell you my story. I hope this will convince you to open up to me but...it is your choice...however the Moon always has a purpose...her plan can stretch for generations and generations in the works, so who am I to fight it?" Nova leaned forward. Sansa found that she was imitating the woman, her own frame coming closer to catch her soft words.

"I know you have noticed that I have no mate with me. I wear no mate mark either..." Nova showed her bare shoulder. Sansa looked in guilt, indicating that she had indeed wondered this.

"I was young. Well, I say that...but it only happened a few years ago."

Nova shakes her head, a sudden laugh leaving her, "It sounds strange to me when I think back on it. But one night this stranger knocked on my door and I- I just couldn't look away from him. He was my mate. There was no doubt about it. I just couldn't tell how he had found me or what he was doing in front of me in the middle of the night."

"I was training at a pack to be a healer. So, I had my own cabin to work in. He came in- suddenly and swiftly. Like a storm. Thundering and ripping apart my world like a strike of lightning. I- I..." Nova's face turned red suddenly as she shyly looked up at Sansa, "I invited him in..."

Sansa felt her own face heat up at the whispered confession.

"The next morning, he was gone."

"What?"

Nova covered her face with her hands. Sansa stood, walking to the other side of the table to sit next to the female and comfort her.

"I woke up and he was not there."

"Where..."

Nova shook her head silently, "He had left. I knew he would. He was not a creature of this world."

Sansa's heart stopped suddenly, skipping a beat before rapidly regaining speed.

"What do you mean?"

"His eyes...his eyes were of the moon...his skin was etched in her markings...I knew he belonged to her...he was something...something not of this world. And his scent."

Nova looked up from her hands, her tear-stained face turning to stare directly at Sansa as she whispered, "his scent was that of death."  

I know I suck with the late update. I'm not in the best shape this month for some reason :/ really haven't felt that well, but it's still bad of me to not post when I said I would. Please forgive me and enjoy this new chapter ♥