Moonlark Madness: Foxfire

“So. Mr Forkle told us a little bit about you, but I wanted to ask; where have you been living all this time?” Edaline asked as she prepared a bite of… purple… mushy stuff for herself.

All eyes turned to Luna as she tried to form her answer. “Well… it’s a bit of a long story,” she began, “one that may explain why I am the way I am.”

What, annoying? Sophie’s mind offered, and Luna bristled.

“After Calla took me away, I was passed down to a few different families of gnomes. Nobody knew who or what I was, but they figured out one thing fairly quickly. I was a problem child. I didn’t want to cooperate with anyone because I was still angry at Mr Forkle. And… heartbroken, I guess you might say. But anyway, for a while nobody could handle me, so I was moving around all the time. Finally an entire community of gnomes decided to take me under their wing, and I lived with them, far, far away from any elven cities. For six years, anyway. But a plague spread in my old home, and it killed all the gnomes. It somehow didn’t affect me, but back then I would have rathered die than live alone. But, I uh, I didn’t, as you can see, and I Teleported… what?”

Sophie, who had been staring at Luna a moment before, picked up her spoon and started pushing food around her plate. “Nothing. I just didn’t realize you were a Teleporter, is all. I guess all this time I thought I was special, but now I’m not.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Listen here, Sophie Foster—when I was living with Mr Forkle, all he ever talked about was you; ‘Look, this is when Sophie was teething!’” she said, miming pointing at a photograph, “and ‘Look, this is when she started speaking Human!’ and ‘Look, this is when Sophie hit her head on some concrete!’ You were my ‘big sister’, and eeeeverybody loved you. They showed who they liked more when Mr Forkle decided to get rid of me. So, yes, Sophie, you are special. Now don’t interrupt me again unless you want me to share everything that manages to go through your mind when Fitz holds your hand under the table.”

Sophie’s face turned red and her thoughts went murderous as Grady looked between Sophie, Fitz, Tam, and Luna. Him and Edaline exchanged a glance.

“I think we should be getting to bed, " Edaline smiled. “We’ve all had a long day, and you four have school tomorrow, don’t you?”

“I do?” Luna asked as the boys stood to leave.

Edaline nodded. “Mr Forkle got you into Foxfire immediately. I suppose he has some sort of connection to Magnate Leto, or something.”

Sophie rolled her eyes and stood. “Or something,” she muttered.

* * *

Nobody wants the first thing they see in the morning to be brown, nearly eyelash-less eyes glaring at their just-sleeping body. Luna slapped the face before she could tell where she was or what she was doing.

“Ow!” Sophie jumped away, cradling her cheek as Luna sat up, disoriented. “The heck was that for?”

“You hurt my hand…” Luna rubbed her knuckles tenderly. “Why were you hovering over me?”

“Your face was all blurry,” Sophie spat. “I wanted to make sure you were fine.”

“Your face is all red,” Luna offered innocently. “I must’ve hit you pretty hard.”

“Ugh!” Sophie got up and stomped around her room, taking out clothes and complaining about annoying sisters. Sandor observed the scene disapprovingly, but before he could step in, Luna said “Sorry. I’m just not used to ‘family life’.”

Sophie snorted and slammed the bathroom door.

“Yep,” Luna looked around the room before standing to get dressed. “That went well.” In half an hour, she had put on a distasteful Foxfire uniform, eaten breakfast with Grady and Edaline, and gotten a home crystal. Finally, she was standing in front of a large machine with crystals hanging from the top with Sophie and Sandor.

“Foxfire!” Sophie shouted. As the crystals started to rotate, she turned to talk to Luna. “Uh, look. I don’t want to be enemies, but I don’t want to be sisters, either. Let’s just… pretend we don’t know each other, alright? I’ll go now, and you follow in five minutes. Deal?”

Luna shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Sophie smiled a little. “Thanks. If all goes well, we won’t even interact all day.” She stepped into the light with her goblin bodyguard and they shimmered away.

“Luna?” a masculine voice called from the stairway. “Kiddo, are you still here? I think we should talk.”

Luna panicked and jumped into the Leapmaster, not caring if Sophie hated her for it.

A colorful glass pyramid glistened in the sunlight, and hundreds of teenagers milled around, chatting and laughing about one thing or another. Luna immediately spotted Sophie, her back turned as she spoke to Fitz emphatically. Luna covered her face and started walking towards the school. But when she was halfway there, a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders.

“Luna?” Elidi’s face appeared in front of her. “Hey, I thought it was you!” It took her a moment to remember that she’d met Elidi in Atlantis the day before, played a cool Telekinesis game with her, and promised to meet up with her during lunch. Funny how everything had worked out.

“Oh, uh, Elidi! Hi.”

“What’s up?” she asked, falling into step beside Luna.

“Uh… nothing much,” she shrugged, “other than the fact that I moved in with Grady and Edaline.”

Elidi’s eyes widened. “Grady and Edaline Ruewen? Are you like, their family?”

“Well… you could say that.”

“That’s crazy! So you know Sophie Foster?”

“Unfortunately.”

“She’s basically famous around here. She’s probably had more near death experiences and Healing Center visits than every elf combined. And she’s got so many abilities!”

“Cool.”

“But I guess you already know that. Anyhow, I didn’t ask you yesterday, but I’ve been dying to know; what’s your ability?”

“I’m a Telepath. And a Polyglot.” Luna decided not to tell Elidi about her other abilities. She wasn’t going to lie to her if she ever caught on (or if she ever needed to use any of them), but she wanted to be normal. For as long as she could, anyway.

“Whoa. I’m a flasher.” Elidi snapped and two balls of light appeared between them—one a forest green like Luna’s eyes, and one a deep cobalt blue like Elidi’s. “I’m going to become a Physician when I’m older. Like Elwin.”

Luna furrowed her brows. “Elwin? Who’s he?”

Elidi stared at her as if she had sprouted a second head. Which she hadn’t, but Luna patted her neck, just to be sure. “You don’t know Elwin? You’ve never been to the Healing Center before?”

Luna shook her head. (There was still only one.)

“Wow.”

“I’m only just starting school today,” Luna admitted.

Elidi furrowed her brows. “How come?”

“I didn’t live with elves when I was younger, so I never got the chance.”

The girl looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but before she could, a screen lit up and the room they were in fell silent. A man’s face appeared on the screen, and he smiled at the prodigies below. Something about him seemed… familiar, somehow.

“Good morning, you kids,” he said brightly. “As you all know, our annual costume party is coming up next month—” The people around Luna—including Elidi—hollered and cheered excitedly at the reminder, “—as well as a series of exams!” The cheering faded into disappointed groans. Luna listened intently to the rest of the announcements, hoping that something would make sense.

She didn’t have any such luck.

“That’s all for the academic reminders,” the man said. “I wouldn’t want to bore you kids to death. However, I do have one last announcement. We have a new prodigy starting at Foxfire as a Level 5 today. Will you please welcome Miss Luna Thistlewood!”

A light appeared above her, and she shielded her eyes against the uncomfortable glare. Students had turned to look at her, and she wondered how much her expression screamed ‘I’d like to kill Magnate Leto’. Or maybe it screamed ‘I know how to curse in forty-seven different languages’. It’s easy to confuse the two.

“Whoa, what’s up with her eyes?” someone asked, sounding repulsed.

“Yeah, the thing is, I recently came down with this eye plague,” Luna said seriously. “It slowly deteriorates your melanin and a fungus grows between your iris and sometimes makes you see things. It’s not deadly, but it could mess with the rest of your face. And it’s extremely contagious.” She coughed violently into her hand for good measure.

The circle around her got slightly bigger.

Somebody, somewhere, started to clap, and eventually half the prodigies joined them. The clapping was somehow more unnerving than the silence, and Luna felt her face get hot as she picked at her uniform.

“Thank you, everybody,” the man said from the screen. “That will be all for now. Happy Monday!”

As soon as the spotlight was off, Luna looked up again and started walking away.

“So, is green your natural color?” Elidi asked as she followed.

“How else would they be green?”

“Oh. I know someone who makes eyedrops that turn your eyes different colors. Well, I don’t know him,” Elidi amended, “but I’ve seen him around here, and sometimes at Slurps and Burps.”

“Where?”

“Slurps and Burps. His family’s apothecary. You’ve never—”

“No.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. Anyhow, I’ve never talked to him before—like had an actual conversation—but he has this big feud with Stina Heks.”

“Who?”

“She’s annoying. And really mean. You might want to steer clear from her for now.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I’m not sure if they’re still fighting now, since they’re both on Team Valiant, but he used to really put her in her place. He’s so cool…” she said wistfully.

“Mind sharing his name? Or would you prefer to keep that to yourself?”

“Oh! His name is Dex Diznee. Hey, give me your schedule, will you?”

Luna took out a folded piece of paper from her tunic pocket and read it for the first time with Elidi. “Huh. You’ve got Telepathy training in fifteen minutes. Want me to take you there?”

Luna shrugged. “Sure. I’d probably get lost on my own.”

Elidi led Luna through so many twists and turns and stairwells that she couldn’t help it—she lost track of where they were.

“Oh—wait!” Elidi stopped and pointed at a door in the wall. “That’s your locker. Lick that little silver strip.”

“Ew, no.”

“The lock needs your DNA.”

“Uh…” Luna stared at the piece of silver and wondered when the last time it was cleaned. It could’ve been yesterday. It could’ve been a week ago. Or a year. Or… a lot longer than that. She spit on her finger and swiped it on the strip.

Elidi’s eyes seemed to pop out of her head. “Why didn’t I think of that? Elwin picked the flavor today, and I was notlooking forward to finding out what it was.”

Luna peered inside her locker and found a large stack of books, pens and pencils, a box of prattles, and a note. After making sure Elidi was distracted, she reached inside and pulled it out.

“What’s that?” Clearly she wasn’t distracted enough. “Oo, a note! Who’s it from? Your boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Luna said, a little too aggressively. Several prodigies gave her weird looks.

“Oh really,” Elidi said skeptically. “Then what would you call Tam?”

“An acquaintance,” she replied, shoving the note into her pocket. She’d open it later.

“‘An acquaintance’?” Elidi repeated. “That’s one I haven’t heard before. Come on, isn’t he at least ‘just a friend’?”

“No. Is your locker nearby?” Luna asked, changing the subject.

“Other side of the wing,” Elidi shook her head, accepting the bait but not letting go. Luna closed her door and the two finished walking to her Telepathy training.

“Anyhow, I need to get going to the Universe,” Elidi said as Luna was about to open the door. “You have a scheduled visit with Elwin after lunch, by the way, and I’ll be training with him then so, you know. Just something to look forward to.”

“Got it.”

“Bye, Luna!”

“Bye! See you later!” Luna smiled as she waved her away and walked into the room.

A single elf stood in the shadows, his features slightly obscured. “Uh… hello, sir…?”

“Tiergan,” the man said kindly. “Just Tiergan.”

Luna sighed and sat on the chair nearest to her. “So many old friends,” she said sardonically. “Miss me?”

A wide smile lit up his face. “More than you could fathom.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m guessing Mr Forkle warned you about me then?”

He nodded and placed his hand on hers. His fingers were cold and his skin on hers gave her an unpleasant feeling. “I was simply ecstatic when I found out you had survived the gnomish plague. You know, Luna… you were like a daughter to me,” he whispered, his eyes glistening with emotion. “Mr. Forkle and I raised you together, but I always liked to think that you took after me the most. So stubborn. Intelligent. And of course, you look like… well,” he shook his head and cleared his throat.

Luna raised her eyebrows and cocked her head curiously. Why had he cut himself off just then?

Tiergan pushed his blond hair out of his face and let out a breath. “May I?” he asked, reaching his hands towards her temples. Luna nodded and his cold fingers pressed against her forehead. They only sat there for about seventy-two seconds before Tiergan released her and smiled.

“Well, Luna, your mind is completely impenetrable, just as it was eleven years ago. I don’t suppose you remember our talk about ethics, do you?”

Luna chuckled sheepishly. “I do…”

“And?”

“I haven’t exactly paid much attention to them. Oops!”

“Then a quick refresher is necessary.” Tiergan reminded her of the rules of Telepathy and the penalties if she were to break them. Luna listened intently since she didn’t particularly want to be attending any tribunals, whatever those were. “Right! Well, I’m going to hide a memory of mine,” Tiergan began, “in a small, yellow box. I want you to try to find it and project it onto this special paper,” he presented a thick, blank notebook with Luna’s name printed on the top. “Don’t fish around my other thoughts,” Tiergan said seriously.

They sat in two plush armchairs and Luna grabbed Tiergan’s temples. She closed her eyes and reached out until she felt a barrier hit her energy. She knew it must be an obstacle for the average Telepath, but she broke through it like a spiderweb and entered a vast ocean of darkened memories. She figured the veils were Tiergan’s ‘no trespassing’ warnings, and she moved along, scanning the inky black for yellow. In a matter of minutes, she found the box, opened it, and watched the memory.

It was her. She was running around half-naked because she had fun making the people around her frustrated. (Well, that hadn’t changed.) She looked about three years old, with short, wispy hair and soft pink lips. The memory played on, and eventually Mr. Forkle and Tiergan caught up with her and made her get dressed. Luna pulled herself out and projected an image from the memory into her book.

“How come I don’t remember that, but I remembered the stuff about ethics, and when I was taken away?”

“I planted the ethics rules into your mind when I was still able to get in,” Tiergan explained, “as I did with the Moonlark symbols and other information. The memory of being separated, well, I’d say that’s because it was traumatic for you.”

“Interesting… Oh, and Tiergan?”

“Yes, Luna?”

“Yesterday I pulled someone in.”

“In? As in ‘into your mind’?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s incredible! May I… may I come in?”

Luna nodded. Was this more of a vengeful act against Mr. Forkle than an alliance with Tiergan? No! …Yes? Maybe. She felt a presence just outside of her mind and went to pull it in. It was slightly more challenging than it had been the day before with the cognates, but after a bit of tugging it slipped in, and Tiergan sucked in a quiet breath.

“Magnificent,” he muttered. She followed his consciousness around and pulled hazy veils over memories she didn’t want him seeing. (Mostly memories from Atlantis.)

Eventually he let himself out. “Luna that was absolutely… extraordinary.”

Her cheeks warmed at the praise.

“Oh! The time. They should be here soon…” Tiergan smoothed his hair and straightened his jerkin just as the door swung open.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sophie laughed wryly as she, Fitz, and two goblins entered the room.

Fitz let out a frustrated breath.

“So… let me guess,” Luna eyed the two students, “you two came here to be ‘cognates’?”

Sophie brought a hand to her face and Luna noticed a ring on her thumb. Fitz wore one to match.

“Oh. Are you engaged? Dating? Married?” She gestured at her own bare thumb.

Tiergan suppressed a laugh while Sophie rolled her eyes. Fitz ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “No. These tell everyone we’re cognates.”

“Because you interjecting in every sentence isn’t enough?” Luna asked.

Fitz stared coldly at her.

“Fine, fine, I know where I’m not wanted,” she held up her hands in surrender. But when she stood to leave, Tiergan spoke up.

“Actually, you three have sessions together,” he said.

Luna, Sophie and Fitz exchanged horrified looks.

“I’m sorry, what?” Sophie demanded. “I already have to live with her, and now I need to train with her too?”

“Magnate Leto thought it would be good for you two—er, three,” he eyed Fitz, “to try and penetrate each other’s minds.”

“We already did,” Fitz bragged as he leaned smugly against the wall.

“Yeah, about that,” Luna tucked her hair behind her ear, “I pulled you two in. And I showed you daydreams. Everything was fake.” She mimed fireworks exploding her brain.

She felt their mental energies again and ignored them, watching their crestfallen expressions.

Tiergan, however, was ecstatic. “This is excellent,” he exclaimed. “You two have a mental strength of over one thousand, am I correct? That means that Luna’s alone must be much, much stronger!”

Sophie and Fitz glared at Luna.

“Come, sit you two,” Tiergan gestured at the chairs around him. “Try to breach her barriers. And Luna, you keep them out.”

The cognates sat, held each others’ hand, placed a finger on either of Luna’s temples, and stared into their eyes.

She took a mental picture so she could project it later.