Hyunjin always fought calmly. She never saw it as a game like some did. She only kept her expression blank and her gaze focused. 

The moment Heejin blocked Hyunjin’s blow, she could only watch as a spark entered the other’s gaze. She'd found an opening. 

The only thought Heejin had then was, damn.

Hyunjin closed the distance between them, driving her shoulder into Heejin’s chest. It was a weak blow, but she still stumbled, caught off guard by the sudden block. 

The next thing she knew, her back was on the ground and the wind had been knocked out of her. Hyunjin hovered above her. There was the hint of a smile there. 

“You need to work on your balance.” She chuckled. Another thing about Hyunjin. She could be smug about almost anythung except for fighting. The way her eyes glittered now, she was just energised by the fight. 

Heejin frowned at her. “You basically threw me off my feet.” 

“More resistance is needed,” Hyunjin replied. She was still looking down at her with sparkling yellow eyes. 

Heejin found herself growing lost in them. Even though it was getting closer to morning, training always helped keep her energised. Unfortunately, it also meant that she was well aware of how the proximity affected her. And how it didn’t affect Hyunjin. It'd stopped doing that for a long time. 

Then Hyunjin just nodded and got up. She pulled Heejin with her. She did it just as easily as she’d knocked her down. 

“You beat me and we’ll go back for food.” 

Heejin lifted her staff and swung. 

Hyunjin blocked it. 

She tried another. Blocked. She aimed for her legs. Hyunjin jumped, smacking away the next one while she was in the air. 

When she tried again, Heejin summoned another lengthened piece of light and went for Hyunjin’s ribs. She made the hit. 

And then a foot hooked around her ankle. Heejin pushed forward instead, forcing the both of them into the ground. 

Hyunjin’s breath escaped her. “Nice,” she said. “But if I had a knife,” a light pressure at Heejin’s abdomen, “I would've gotten you.” 

“And what about me?” Heejin had her stick against her ribs. “At this point you wouldn’t be able to breathe.” 

She gave her a look. “It’s about surviving the fight, not winning it.” Then she rolled them around. A full smile appeared. “But it’ll do if I was even more of an idiot than I am.” She pulled her up again. “Another?” 

They ended up going through four more rounds. Two of them ended with Heejin thinking she’d won before Hyunjin pointed something else out. The other two times Heejin was just about tossed to the ground. 

“We should stop.” Hyunjin absorbed her mock weapons. Her eyes glowed even brighter now. 

Heejin scowled. “I didn’t beat you once.” The shame of that got her more than the growing bruises did. 

She smiled. “I’m hungry.” 

“You wanted food hours ago.” And Heejin couldn’t deny that she'd also gotten very hungry. 

Hyunjin just shrugged. “The wait makes it even better.” She tilted her head to the side, her smile growing. “And you could’ve stopped it at any moment.”

“You said we’d only stop if I got you.”

“I’m not a strict teacher,” she replied. “I let people off easy.”

Heejin gave her a look. “The bruises'll really prove that.”

“Does it hurt?” Hyunjin spoke quietly now. 

She shook her head. Where was this caution coming from? Hyunjin had sent a lot of the rest straight to Nuala. She and Jinsoul were their main healers when ‘intensive training’ started.

The glow of the fires came into view. It was joined by louder chatter. Some had taken to staying up late. There wasn’t the constant paranoia that spies or other search parties were around. They could let their guard down and even treat the day like it was a normal night. 

“If you didn’t give me a real challenge, you’d be doing it wrong,” Heejin said. 

Another shrug was her response. Hyunjin had gotten less talkative recently. At first, Heejin had been able to see her struggle with something, as if she wanted to say something, but continuously held herself back from it. 

“Heejin!” Priad called. The one the light bound her to. “Teveril got a European wine and it’s incredible.” 

She could only smile and wave at them. At him. 

“Good way to end the night,” Hyunjin said, a small smile on her face. Heejin almost thought it looked strained. “Make sure to stretch your back some more before you go to sleep.”

“That’ll help?”

A nod. “You’ve started slouching again. Those muscles have to be kept strong.” 

Heejin frowned. “Since when is walking related to fighting?” 

“It isn’t,” Hyunjin’s smile grew, “but I’ve seen several mortals with very poor postures. Many elves as well.” She chuckled. "Should I send Jungeun on you like she gets after Jinsoul?"

She straightened. To her dismay, she realised that there was actually a long distance for her shoulders to go back. 

Hyunjin nodded in approval, before turning away, going to another fire. 

Heejin didn’t want her to go, but Hyunjin would've hated being with the others. She'd told her she didn't get along with that type of person. The type either blessed with the sight, ones who loved hunts, or people born to be elders in the future. Heejin sometimes wondered how Hyunjin had ever tolerated her in the first place. 

So she turned around and went to join them, accepting a plate and loading it with much-needed food. Heejin took the cup with a smile. It was actually a good one. 

“She really laid into you, didn’t she?” Priad frowned, brushing a hand through her hair. He picked out a leaf. “You sure it’s necessary?”

Heejin nodded. “Puts up a good fight compared to the rest of you.” She gave them a wink. 

Teveril rolled his eyes. “Considering it’s her life, of course she’s better.”

The words felt off to her, but Heejin dismissed it. She focused instead on finally eating something. It was a brisket made extra crispy. The fresh spices the others had brought were a welcome change. 

They talked of the patrols, of how many spirits they’d turned, and of the latest news from the other elves. The Tresa, elves from the coldest points of the earth, were doing a small round of the earth. There was the chance they’d also come to them, bearing both gifts and requests for the coming years. They were usually unpredictable with those visits. Eline and the other seers helped with that, but even they couldn’t always tell when the Tresa were coming. 

In the back of her mind, Heejin added it to her list of examples where the light was fallible. It was a list some would that a lot would condemn her for. No one would stop to think that maybe their beliefs had to be re-examined, no matter how long the list. 

There were some exceptions, but there weren't enough of them. 

"When's the halfling coming?" Teveril knocked back the rest of his glass. He poured another. 

Heejin frowned. "Don't start calling her that." Although a large part of her wished the half-elf wasn't coming, although she wished the light hadn't shone on them as well, she couldn't help but find issue in how easily Teveril dismissed them. 

Beside him, Kolina shrugged. "It's what they are."

"Still can't believe the moon's light extends that far out." Priad shook his head. "What's next? Full fairy, a human?"

Some of them chuckled. Heejin didn't join in. These same people had been opposed to Jungeun when she'd arrived, the first of the non-Astra to be chosen by the moon. When Jinsoul came, it'd somehow changed things. Whatever the reason, the elves had begrudgingly accepted them. This acceptance had then extended to Choerry. Still, the three girls and others like them were kept to patrol almost every other day. They were still the ones sent into the human world for trade. Choerry and Jinsoul had been the exception. Jinsoul was a well respected healer for them now, while Choerry was also helping there. Jungeun continued to deal with most threats when they arose. She was the best at that. 

What would happen now? Would people treat the half-elf with even more scrutiny? They'd probably struggle to 'accept this fate' and rationalise what the moon wanted. They'd debate among themselves. Again. 

Heejin remembered a day when they hadn't questioned the moon. When they'd blindly accepted what it wanted of them. And they'd tossed someone away because of it. 

“Tired?” Priad asked. 

“A bit.” Heejin tried for another smile. He'd probably sensed some of her irritation. Not enough. 

The smile worked. “You know it’s alright to take it easy,” he said. “Skip a session or two with the girl. She’s not Yuol.” The elder who’d taught most of them once they’d come of age. He didn’t do anything before or after then, but the tests he set were necessary to leave training behind. And he was relentless with his criticisms, but never gave lessons after that. 

“No,” Heejin agreed. “But she’s the next best thing.” She hoped her tone showed that she wanted to drop the topic. 

It didn’t. 

His brow furrowed. “She’s not the only one with experience. Father’s even offered to help.”

She shook her head. Priad’s father would never lay a hand on her. She wasn’t sure Priad would let him either. “I don’t need a change.” 

“You’re always in pain after you’ve worked with her.”

She raised a brow. “It’s a challenge.” 

“One you don’t need.”

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “It’s good to have.” Now she finished her food and poured a bit more of the wine into her cup. “I’ll be off.” She gave Teveril a small wave. “Thanks for the wine.”

He raised his cup in response. How many refills he’d had, Heejin wasn’t sure. 

There was a small chorus of goodnights and she knew Priad would want to come with her. She left before he could make to get up. 

A part of her knew that she was being unfair. The other part reassured her that it didn’t matter. Even if there was a bond between them, it hadnt done much else than simply exist. She'd felt nothing the day she’d learned of it, nor did she feel anything when he was near. Something had changed that day, but thinking of it was painful. 

Heejin's feet took her to the other campfire. Someone sat there alone. Her eyes were closed and she chewed on something, seemingly savouring each bite. 

Heejin stood there, debating whether or not to disturb the peace. They hadn't eaten together for a few weeks, maybe even longer. Hyunjin was always off doing something, or Heejin was called to be with another group. 

She walked over over. 

“Care for a sip of wine?” Heejin asked. 

Hyunjin’s eyes opened. With the fire, they looked more orange than yellow. “Wine?” 

Heejin raised her cup. “The good European kind.” She pushed it into her free hand. 

The other girl looked at it, but didn’t drink. 

Heejin sat down. “Don’t tell me you need a sharp mind to sleep.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Hyunjin chuckled, “but I do need one when guarding.” She handed the cup back to Heejin. 

“Guarding?”

“Short one today,” she replied. 

Heejin couldn’t help but frown. “You were already on patrol.”

Hyunjin took a bite of her own food. On her plate was a crumpled breadroll beside her brisket. “Kolina said she was worried about witches. And tonight, Eline expects a stray vampire or malevolent spirit to find its way to us. With the newcomer, I'm betting on the spirit being the threat."

A few of the elves could gather information about the future. Most were distrustful of it. At least until the information became useful: who one was destined to be with, who was a threat, who was in danger, all of it was considered vital to know. 

"You're also going to be part of the ?" Heejin asked. “And you’re warding off witches?” Close-quarters combat wasn’t much help against spells. 

“Jungeun and Chuu will be joining with the witches," Hyunjin shrugged, “and then Jinsoul and Jungeun'll be there to get the newcomer.” She had another bite, seemingly indifferent. "And I'd like to meet them before all becomes even more confusing." 

Heejin was about to say more about the guarding part, but she realised it’d be pointless. 

A smile appeared on Hyunjin’s face. “Well done today.” 

“You’re just trying to inflate my ego.”

She shook her head. “Not just that. I mean it.”

Heejin frowned again. “I lost each time.” Just thinking the day over made her face flush, both with embarrassment and frustration. 

Hyunjin chuckled. “Really?”

“You told me all the ways I didn’t.” She tried to keep the frustration from her voice. 

“And you believed it,” Hyunjin tilted her head to the side, “I’m flattered, but you put too much faith in my words.” Her smile seemed to grow with each word. "But remember we're blessed with immortality. You'd have survived a lot of those wounds." 

Heejin frowned at her. “You were lying to me?”

She waggled her eyebrows. “Leaving out details.” 

“Like?”

“Your form was good,” Hyunjin said. “You’re strong, stronger than most of the people here and you beat me a few times today.”

Heejin’s face burned from the praise. She hoped she just looked bewildered instead of flustered. 

“So why’d you tell me I lost?” She didn’t even mind that. Not when it meant she could learn from her mistakes after actually finding out what she was doing wrong instead of getting vague suggestions. Hyunjin was rarely vague. She just taught her by making her eat dirt and leaves. 

Hyunjin grinned. “I wanted you to try again.” 

Strangely enough, Heejin didn’t mind that either. She’d have the worst ache by tonight, but today had been worth it. She'd seen Hyunjin smile and laugh more than she had in a while. 

“You needed me to do that eight times?” Heejin asked. 

“It was more than that.” Hyunjin tore the last of the bread roll in half. “At least twelve.” She popped it in . 

She swatted her arm. “And when we stopped?” 

“I told you the truth there.” Hyunjin finished the bread, or whatever that specific type was supposed to be called. “I was really hungry.” She took a plum from the bowl at the base of the fire. She began to eat that as well. She still hadn’t finished the meat. 

Heejin leaned back. She couldn’t help but smile. Hyunjin tended to do things in a strangely specific way, while also being completely focused on what she did. Usually it was with a task, such as training her to fight or doing some other duty in the camp. Hyunjin would take it seriously, no matter what was going on in her head or around her. She’d hardly pay mind to the passage of time, and she wouldn’t cave to someone’s ego, especially not Heejin’s. And she’d still do something like what she’d done today. 

Then there were moments like these where she’d relax fully. Her particular way of doing things still showed through, but it was with her food. 

Heejin loved both sides of her to no end, but she could only think of them together. She’d come to adore the person they combined to make. 

Hyunjin looked up then, as though startled. 

“Something wrong?” Heejin asked. 

Yellow eyes lingered on her face for a moment. 

“Nothing,” Hyunjin shook her head, “thought there was something strange.” There was a tug at the corner of . “But it was just you.” 

Heejin rolled her eyes, while a low laugh sounded from the other. She tried not to dwell on how happy it made her to hear it. 

Then there was a shout. Heejin vaguely heard the words, she's here!

Already? Immediately, her mood soured. It was the next person chosen by the moon. The one her people were already prepared to accept, despite murmuring consistantly about the 'outsider', despite expressing their rejection of the half-elf. They'd agree to accept her. All because the moon had chosen her. 

And they'd abandoned one of their own. Because the moon hadn't chosen Hyejoo, or—as they now had to call her—Olivia. 

_____

Author's Note

The first two chapters were my equivalent of setup, where we see the current states of the two 'main' characters. Before more storylines combine, I wanted to give a little bit of insight into some other characters, specifically Hyunjin and Heejin. 

I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I'm really happy to be able to share this. It's been in my mind for a while now. Would love to know your thoughts so far. 

Hope you're doing well and I'll see you in the next chapter!