• This is Home by Cavetown •

Larimar suggested respite to Jade, as soon as they changed into a fresh set of clothes. She said she felt sorry for sleeping all the way while Jade had to stay on guard, but the redhead only smiled and patted the spot on the bed beside her.

Lari sighed and occupied the spot. They sat like that for several moments before Jade started to speak. "I asked Hema to take Missy to a friend's house," she said, breaking the awkward silence that had been periodically settling over them since the previous morning.

"Salem is there too, so she might have some company. Here, she could just get in everyone's way, or get hurt in the commotion."

"Yeah, that was very thoughtful," Lari replied. "Thank you."

"Peri - my friend, I mean - would bring both of the cats later in the evening. After we close up."

"Close up? I thought Jalo would be open all night for the festival."

Jade chuckled. "We used to do that before. I don't know why we don't stay open all night during the festival anymore. Oh! That reminds me... umm... Princess, I have something to tell you."

Lari nodded, urging her on. Jade left her spot to go over to where she had spread her coat and rummaged through the inner pockets. There she found a box, and brought it back to her beloved Princess.

"Citra and Mali - and this might sound weird as fuck - but they gave this to us," Jade informed, sitting back down, and tucking her feet under her thighs. "As gifts? Yeah, I'd like to believe so." She took the necklaces off the padding inside the box and separated the Sun and the Moon, and placed them on her palm.

"I'm guessing, I'm the Moon," her friend said cheekily, and picked the crescent locket up. She quickly put it around her neck and proceeded to take the other too. She made a circular motion with her mother finger, suggesting her friend to show her back.

"They... umm..." the redhead started again, stammering, as she watched the Sun descend on her chest, felt the chain on her skin and the Princess' breath on the back of her neck. "They're of the opinion... that you're the representative of the Moon, and I am so for the Sun. And..."

"Seems right, considering my mentor and your patron."

"Sure... and they also believe in this... prophecy. That... they think... well, it's Citra mostly, but Mali made these necklaces so I'm sure he believes it just as much."

"What does the prophecy say?"

"Well..." Jade's stammer continued. "It says... 'when the dark nights may fall, two will come to save them all. Sol and Luna will join hands, to the Devil's fault they make amends'."

"The rhyme scheme is on point," Lari joked, but it got her thinking.

The circumstances that brought her together with Jade were really very magical, fateful. True that it was driven by betrayal, and other people's greed, but never once was she led to label their meeting as star-crossed. On the other hand, to think of it as something having a higher purpose never occurred to her either.

"Wow, that was an underwhelming response," Jade said, fumbling with her locket. When Lari laughed, she turned towards her and narrowed her eyes.

The blue-eyed princess sighed and replied, "I don't know if this is related, but Luna has... well, I can't really say it..."

"Do you want me to tell her?"

A silky voice startled the both of them, making Jade look up and the other turn her head rather unceremoniously. "Goodness!" The noirette exclaimed, putting a hand over her chest. "Luna, what are you doing here? Are you... are you watching us?"

"A lot of us are, actually," The Arcana stated as a matter of fact. "Including Malach, I'm sure. Sage was of the opinion that now that both of you are out of Kalk, and... are you still unsure about where to go from here?"

The two nodded. "Okay," she continued. "Well, I can give you a hint on where you could go. If you would, or if circumstances would permit you to, are not up to me. It'd just be a suggestion from our side."

"Our side? Who's 'us'?" Jade asked, with a scrunched nose.

"Sol and I," Luna replied, with a sideways glance at her mentee. "He really wants to see you, Queen Jade, but we believe it's not time yet. Anyway, I came here to offer my insight on things, since... he's a little busy now. I'm sure you can tell."

She pointed at the open window, indicating towards the piece of sky visible through it. The earthlings followed the direction of her paw.

Taking their distraction as an opening, she moved towards Lari and extended a hand to produce her blue lock from underneath her blacks. "It's a thing of wonder, isn't it?" She smoothed it between two fingers, and the earthling watched her pupils dilate.

"So..." She stepped back, and looked between the two of them. "The prophecy you've been told about, is legitimate. And we're hoping that it'd come true, and that you two would step up to it. There, I said it."

"Us against the Devil? Is that what you're indicating?" Lari asked, her forehead wrinkled with confusion. The Arcana nodded with her thin lips upturned.

"And how would we do that?" Jade queried.

"That you would figure out. There's still time before you absolutely have to," Luna stated. "And we're here, Sol and I, to help you figure it out."

"What has the Devil done that we have to go against him?" Lari asked, and immediately regretted. "I mean, I know he's a menace, but what has he done now that he needs to be stopped?"

"You'll find that out soon enough," the Arcana was back to being vague, but her demeanor had become shaky like she was terrified of telling her herself. "Just know that, just like Sol and I are here for you, some other Major Arcanas are also eager to help you. And many of them are patrons of your friends and acquaintances. So, keep them close. Visit them."

"You keep saying, Sol and I, Sol and I," the redhead complained. "But I've never seen him. I know that the Princess meets with you often. But, I've never seen him, not after..."

Luna nodded. "Soon," she assured. "Soon, Queen Jade. The Sun can't move from his realm, not as freely as the Moon at least. His presence keeps life going on earthside, you know that. He'll summon you when you need him most. I promise."

With that, Luna left them, disappearing into thin air. Leaving them with more questions than answers.

"She didn't really say much, did she?" Jade commented, with a scoff. But Larimar didn't respond. She was lost in thought, feeling the texture of her blue tress.

"That sly bitch!" She finally said, as Jade observed her, trying to read her next steps before they happened.

The redhead watched her friend extend her hand towards the yellow knob of the reading table's drawer and pull it. From inside, she extracted a pair of scissors, the handles of which were also yellow, and brought it closer.

"You can never tell what she's trying to say, unless you also pay attention to what she's looking at, what she's touching. Goodness, I wish I didn't have to deal with her," Lari complained.

As Jade still looked on with awe, she placed her blue strand between the blades and locked eyes with her companion. "I'm gonna do it," she said, with a kind of a mischievous glow on her face.

Jade didn't say it, but this might have been the moment she fell irrevocably in love with Larimar.

Jade smirked, and shrugged, willing her to go on. And snap she went. Half of the lock remained rooted in her scalp, while the bottom half fell limp between Lari's fingers. And in the following moments, Jade witnessed the transformation of her dark black hair into a pale azure. Like the metamorphosis of night into day.

The young Queen spent the next couple of hours fixing her friend a haircut, butterflies forever spreading their wings in her stomach. By the time she was done, the hairdo had given Princess Larimar a completely new look, one that'd keep her elusive from others.

Jade held a mirror in front of her, and said, "I think you can actually go out and attend the festival. This was genius. Do you like the hairstyle, Princess?"

Lari nodded. "Do you like the color?" She asked, locking eyes with her friend's reflection. Jade nodded.

As night fell, Larimar's impatience grew. She wanted to go out, she wanted to test if she was really that unrecognisable now.

She sat at the table, sifting through her tarot deck as Jade rested. Considering reading for herself, she shuffled the deck and placed it before herself. But she soon realized her spirit was too agile at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, she shuffled the deck again, and knocked on the topmost card, requesting the Arcana to guide her. She fanned out the deck and picked three cards. She placed them in front of herself, facing up.

Three of Cups - upright
Judgement - reversed
Three of Swords - upright

The arrangement of the cards confused her, making her even more restless. The Threes made her curious. Closing her eyes, Lari tried to remember what she already knew.

The requirement of support from friends and family.

That's what multiple Threes in a reading stood for. Having heard something similar from The Moon only solidified Lari's faith in her cards.

But finding the Three of Cups and the Three of Swords in the same reading baffled her. While the former evinced the oncoming friendships that Lari was willing to make, the Swords indicated a heartbreak and grief.

Lari looked over at Jade, who was peacefully scratching her forehead in her sleep. The only person who could break Lari's heart must be the person she'd given it to.

Taking the card's suggestion as an advice, Lari sighed and decided against working on the feelings that had been pooling in her heart over the past several days. Maybe if she didn't open up her heart, it wouldn't be broken. But something inside her told her otherwise - the prophecy, and the love that the Moon had for the Sun.

Was it really destiny for her to have feelings for Jade too? Was it not in her choice, but an act of divine intervention, to love the strong yet sensitive woman in front of her?

Lari touched the locket on her neck, felt the hollow of the crescent, where the makeshift rays of the Sun were placed the first time she saw them together. How could Jade not know that her thoughts were residing in Lari's heart the same way?

She couldn't wait anymore. She wanted to go downstairs, outside if possible; she wanted to see Missy. So she put her cards back into the deck, shuffled them, closed the reading with a short prayer before heading out of the door.

Lari fixed her new fringes over her forehead as she stepped down the stairs that led her to the servers' quarters. A curtain separated the main dining hall from the kitchen and the dormitory where the employees lived. Maw had told her that she was welcome in these premises whenever she wished to enter, so she barged in.

Two people rushed among three dishes being prepared simultaneously, neither of whom Princess Larimar had seen before. She could guess who one of them was, from the way he held his posture and brushed his fingers through his red hair. "Hello," she called out, and the busy heads turned to her immediately.

The other person, a younger looking, black haired girl, proceeded towards her with her hands raised midair in defence. "Ma'am," she addressed her. "Guests aren't allowed in the kitchen. Please have a seat in the dining hall, or if you have a room, we can send your dinner upstairs."

"Onika!" Jasper stopped her. "That's... she's allowed to be here. It's Princess Larimar." He said the last part in a hushed, low voice, to escape anybody else's earshot, but the young girl heard him. It was the second time in three days that she had failed to recognise a royal figure. With tinted cheeks, she took a deep bow and apologized, before returning to the dish she was preparing.

"Can I help with something?" Lari asked, finally crossing the threshold. Not a moment later, Hema walked in behind her, and started complaining about how their lack of experience was making it hard to attend so many customers.

"Do you think I can help?" Lari asked, turning to Jasper.

With a smile, he replied, "I think you'll blend right in."

At the end of the night, the blue-haired, blue-eyed waitress, who was "not from around", had successfully served enough tables, and collected enough tips to have it all spilling from the jar at the bar Maw was making drinks all evening. "Good job, Lari," the tavern-keeper praised her. "Nobody batted an eye. It was a huge success, wasn't it?"

Lari smiled, as the old man put down a small glass in front of her and poured a clear liquid into it. "Have a shot of Koskenkorva for now, love," he said, his eyes sparkling. "After dinner, I'll give you a shot of Lakka." Her smile only broadened as she picked the shot glass up and downed it.

Jasper took their guest to the quarters inside, in the hopes of sitting down peacefully to chat. But the moment they stepped through the curtains, a bunch of fur and purr took them by surprise. Mewton had missed her human for the whole day. She had leaped and Lari caught her easily in her arms.

She started to kiss her familiar on the top of her small head, but she noticed in the distance, another furry being. A black, shorthair, graceful cat with a long, sleek tail. Sitting on the lap of a wheelchair user.

Lari's eyes met hers. She had the black hair that the Princess had less than 12 hours ago, and features that looked very, very familiar. Peri looked like somebody she had known for a long time. "Hi, you must be Peri." Lari waved a hand at her, and driven by sheer unconsciousness, walked towards her.

"Is that Salem?" She asked again, even though her last addressal had received no response. This one did.

Peri nodded, and Lari extended a hand to pet the black cat behind his ear. Salem took it graciously, but Mewton didn't seem to like her share of pets being given to another cat.

"You know," Lari spoke again, to Peri. "I... I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Have we met?"

Peri scoffed, and looked up to meet a pair of green eyes on the other side of the room. They seemed to be worried about whatever conversation was going on, on this side.

Without caring, she asked Lari, "does it feel like looking into a mirror?" The question threw the Princess off, and not because she didn't have an answer.

"Well, sort of." She had an answer.

Peri finally looked up to meet eyes with her, and the smirk on her lips was deadly. "Peri, do you want to come over here?" The two women heard Jasper's tensed voice calling from a few feet away, but neither registered it enough to look away from each other.

Finally, in an avowal preceding chaos, Peri said, "maybe it's because I'm your half sister."

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Translations:

• Koskenkorva, Lakka - Finnish alcohol

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