Chapter 5 Dai’Ahnah

Fourteen days. Not a single being has crossed my orbit since Mah’Keht left to check on his Rehlm and I fear that I’m starting to lose my mind. Time never affected me before him. I know our dear Empress wanted my twin and I to track it personally, but Lu’Nah found a way around that ages ago. Now I feel like an immortal hourglass counting every grain of stardust that falls. How helpless can one being be? I did my best to hide my disappointment when Mah’Keht decided to leave again, but I fear that he saw right through me. He always seems to see right through me, and I hate it.

“Who does?”

“Lu’Nah!” I jump, although my defense system is immune to my sprite of a twin.

Her pure white hair billows around her waist as she hovers below my latest constellation of the snowy peaks of Seh’Fahrait, a curious look in her eye. “Are the boys changing the surface of Eh’Fi again? What is this? Where is this?”

“Seh’Fahrait,” I say.

She gapes at me before flying over and gripping my shoulders. “I leave for a few months and you’re already sneaking off-Rehlm? And without me!”

“I’m happy to see you too, sister,” I say, causing her golden eyes to narrow in suspicion.

“What are you not telling me?”

I bite back my growing smile and brush some lingering stardust from my sleeves with a shrug. “I fell in love.”

“Love?” Lu’Nah’s nose wrinkles with disgust. “That’s impossible. You can’t fall in love. You’re Dai’Ahanah! The strong protector of Eh’Fi. Who could’ve possibly caught your attention?”

“A lord of darkness and flame.”

Lu’Nah plays with my hair as I ramble about Mah’Keht. His form. His laugh. Every last blissful detail that replays in my mind from our short time together. I talk for so long that Lu’Nah runs out of styles to try and begins to weave a small hoop of protection threads instead. One of her infamous Drimkatchis no doubt.

“Am I boring you?” I chuckle.

“A little, yeah.”

I guess Mah’Keht’s only interesting if you’re hopelessly in love with him. Whatever. More for me to enjoy. “How goes the apprenticeship?”

“My Master is relentless,” Lu’Nah sighs. “They are convinced that an intense darkness is coming for the Mor’Tahls. I’ve weaved together so many Drimkatchi for dream protection, I think I’ve run out of new patterns to make.”

I watch the thin, web-like threads fall from her fingertips as she weaves each one around a hoop-like design. Drops of her pure starlight get caught in the web like dew and drip down the bottom, creating tendrils of glittering lines that curl at the ends like celebration streamers – a pure masterpiece only Lu’Nah can make.

“You’ve gotten so good at these.”

“Have I?” She glances at me with a crinkled nose. “This one is not my best work.”

“How can you say that? It’s gorgeous!”

Lu’Nah’s laughter rings through my being. “Well, now you know how I feel about the family crest.”

Of course, she would bring up my very first constellation. No matter how many times I go back and tweak it, I find it utterly repulsive. The only reason it still exists is because it’s Lu’Nah’s favorite constellation. She nearly sends the Rehlm into emergency defense mode whenever I threaten to erase it.

“Our talents shine because we have each other,” I nudge her.

“Well, it seems I’ve been replaced by this Mah’Keht guy,” she grumbles.

“Mah’Keht could never replace you.”

“Should I be calling this guy brother yet?”

I feel the blush creep across my cheeks. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Dai, you almost talked me into boredom about this guy,” she boops my nose with a grin. “That’s usually my job. Face it, you’ve got it bad.”

“I do. I know I do. But I can’t bring myself to fully accept it.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s wrong, Lu. It’s selfish and distracting and-”

“And exactly what you’ve always wanted.”

I blink at her, mouth agape and unsure whether to be offended or agree with her. Mah’Keht is so unexpected that I don’t feel I’ll ever wrap my head around how I feel about him. But maybe that’s also just what love feels like.

Lu’Nah swirls her energy around the Drimkatchi and shrinks it to fit in her palm. She moves in close and fastens it to my lobe before standing back to admire her work.

Lu’Nah shakes her head. “Needs two of them.” A thunderous clap erupts from her palms and I feel the weight of another Drimkatchi attach to my other ear. She nods in approval before flying closer, brushing her pale hands through my indigo waves. “I know you can take care of yourself. I just hope this being is who he says he is.”

“And if he isn’t, I’ll banish him from the Rehlm,” I smirk.

Lu’Nah sighs and hugs me fiercely. “I have to return to the Drimskaep before my Master starts bitchin’ but I just had to check in on my favorite sister. You never know what can go wrong in this Rehlm.”

“I’ve missed you too, Lu’Nah,” I kiss all over her white hair before she floats out of my grasp. “Don’t be gone too long this time.”

“Yeah,” she scoffs. “Like you’ll even remember me once your beloved returns.”

“I’ll still miss you,” I mumble as her laughter retreats to her moon on the opposite side of Eh’Fi.

Seeing Lu’Nah these days is so bittersweet. One moment she’s there and the next she’s back to the Drimskaep. A place that only she and her Master can enter. Not even the most powerful being, Order, can enter that mysterious Rehlm. I’ll have to ask her more about it the next time I see her. If I’m not too busy boring her with more stories of Mah’Keht.

“Cheating on my brother already?”

Serah’Finah’s energy lingers outside my orbit, the infinity sack draped over her shoulder.

“Excuse me?” I snap.

“I saw you all kissy-face with that other light being,” she smirks. “What will Mah’Keht think?”

“That light being happens to be my twin sister – a being with twice as much power as me. Shall I call her back for introductions?”

Serah’Finah’s lips purse with displeasure. “Unnecessary. I was just leaving.”

“Wait.”

I wave her over with slight reservation. Mah’Keht didn’t seem thrilled to see his sister the last time she appeared but that doesn’t mean I can’t at least try to get along with her.

“What do you want?” she snaps, flying closer. “I’m busy.”

“No need to be so defensive. I just wanted to-”

“If you’re trying to get all chummy with me to impress my brother, you’re wasting your time.”

“Are you always this nasty?” I scoff.

“Only my precious father deserves my kindness,” Serah’Finah’s hot pink wings point at my throat. “You are nothing more than an eyesore. A beacon for trash like my brother.”

I take in the finer details of her being. Her outer form is almost translucent while the rest is a mess of feathery fuchsia gear outlining her forearms and upper body. A spray of rose feathers billows around her legs and covers the rest of her completely. If I didn’t see the heel of her hot pink platform peaking out, I’d think she didn’t have legs. Everything about her is so extravagant and bright.

“See something you like?” she smirks, tucking the tip of her wing under my chin. “I am a being to behold, aren’t I?”

“I was just thinking that my sister might enjoy your company more than me,” I admit. “Your fashion would intrigue her.”

“As if I could ever be attracted to an apparition.”

I swat her wing from my chin. “You would be lucky to have a being like Lu’Nah even look your way.”

“Many beings look my way, darling. I can’t keep track of them all.” She scans me with disgust and lingers on my earrings. “Those aren’t horrible.”

“A gift,” I smirk. “A Lu’Nah exclusive.”

“Whatever,” Serah’Finah sighs, adjusting the infinity sack to her other shoulder. “Are we done here?”

“Why do you and your brother hate each other so much?”

The look in her eye is haunting, those pink pupils small and feral. “Hate doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about my brother. Not after everything he’s taken from me.”

“Everything?”

“Let me inform you of your precious Mah’Keht. He seems to care for you at first, but it’s only for his advantage in the long run. Once you stop becoming useful, he’ll drop you. Move on.”

“You’re lying,” I shake my head. “My orbit can tell when a being is lying. They give off a certain vibration that repulses me.”

Sehrah’Finah flies up in my face. “Then try this one on for size. Mah’Keht siphoned my powers when we were growing up in Skah’L. And once I was nice and weak, he told me his plan to leave me alone while he went to live in another Rehlm. I banished him to make it permanent, and he cursed me in return.”

Her smirk only grows as she traces my lips with her fingertips. “I like that look on you. Confusion with a tinge of growing fear. What part scares you, puppet? That every word was truth, or that you had no idea how dark his shadows go?” I move to swat her away, and she grips my wrist. “If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I’d taint every inch of you before my brother even gets a taste.”

I make my physical form translucent and her grasp falters. The defense disks that lay dormant on my surface appear at my sides and I hold one up to her neck, another two to her wingtips.

“I take it back,” I grunt. “My sister would’ve grown bored after she learned you’re nothing more than fluff. Such a waste.”

Serah’Finah’s eyes glow with pure power as she flies out of my orbit, a few of her feathers falling into the ether. The sickening feeling of her energy still lingers and I don’t lower my discs until I feel her leave the Rehlm entirely. What a despicable being. Even if everything she said about Mah’Keht is true, there’s more to that story she wasn’t telling me. 

Serah’Finah. I hope that was her last trip into this Rehlm for a while. The less I have to deal with that nauseating bubblegum energy the better. I release my weapons and collapse onto the surface of the Dark moon. My pile of stardust floats around as I clear the orbit of her energy. Each grain dissipates to reclaim my space as my own. At this rate, I won’t have enough to make a constellation for a while. 

Oh well. I only used it because there was so much in the first place. It just seems to accumulate on the surface naturally. How much will I be able to make before Mah’Keht returns? I’ll need at least enough to make a scene of our next adventure together. The longer he stays away, the more my core aches. And with his sister leaving me with more questions than answers, I fear I might go insane before his return.