Jinsoul squeezed out glittering water from the cloth. It trickled down onto Jungeun’s cheek and down her neck. She pulled the dirty water away. A simple task, but she usually liked watching the water moving on its own. 

“You’re mad.” Red eyes looked up at her. They were pale. Drained.

She didn’t answer. She soaked the cloth again and repeated the process. 

“You don’t have to do this now,” Jungeun said. 

She really didn’t. The sun was slowly rising. She should’ve already been sleeping. There was a time when Jungeun would’ve already gone to bed a few hours ago. But she’d only come back now. 

Jinsoul had stayed awake, checking the state of what elixirs they did have, as well as the waterskins and how much they had. She'd almost lost ways of wasting her time. 

Then Jungeun and Chuu had come back, one of them with torn, blood-soaked clothes and dull eyes.

It had looked like Jinsoul’s nightmares had come true. Until she’d gotten closer to see that no wound had been piercing, just a scrape. Yet there was still way too much darkness and not enough light to counter it. 

Jungeun’s next word was said softly. “‘Soul.”

“I am mad.” 

Silence. 

She took the rest of the clean water and let it rise in lazy circles. She was tired and the tugging sensation at her mind was nearing a headache. 

Jungeun’s dim eyes followed it. They looked more vibrant now, but they were still a shadow compared to what they actually were. 

Jinsoul made the water cover the wound. It looked like a burn mark, but Jinsoul knew its cause had been something cold. 

The rest of it slid down Jungeun’s neck. It did soak her clothes further, but she’d already cleaned that part. And they’d have new clothes. 

She knew Jungeun was on the verge of saying something else. 

Instead of looking up, she began with the sigil. Already, the light in the water was starting to work. Only starting. It should've been working faster.

Jinsoul focused on her head, drew out light from herself, and let it flow into the water. That made her headache worse. 

“Don’t overdo it,” Jungeun muttered. “They’re just scratches.”

“You overdid it,” Jinsoul replied. She tried to keep her voice level. “A normal dose should’ve already gotten rid of most of it." And Jungeun had used up too much light, when there wasn't enough available to them. Even Vivi's revelation that the light was absorbed by everything around them still didn't mean Jungeun had unlimited amounts to use.  

“We know they pack a bigger punch,” a small shrug, “at least now you can quantify it.”

A shout rose up in . Jinsoul pushed it down. “That’s not what you need to be figuring out.” She completed the sigil. The water became firm on Jungeun’s cheek. 

“I know,” a tiny smile, “but it’s one way we can look at this as being a good turn of events.”

There it was: the optimism Jinsoul could rarely stay angry at. Except for today. 

Today she just sighed. Her head hurt and she was tired. It just made the remarks frustrating. Jungeun could go on those patrols with Chuu, leave Yerim and her out of it. But she still let Jinsoul heal her if she got hurt. It made her wonder why. Did Jungeun just not want her on patrol? Or was there something else?

“Why can’t you just wait for me?” Jinsoul asked. 

Jungeun’s brow furrowed. “Wait for you?”

“Then you wouldn’t have to walk all the way over here, soaking your clothes and shivering.” Looking like a ghost, she added in her head. “Chuu told me you took the spirit on by yourself.” Meaning Jungeun wasn't going with Chuu because she needed her in a fight. 

“She told you, or you made her tell you?” She glanced up. 

“Both.” Jinsoul had told Chuu to make sure Jungeun didn’t charge without thinking and she knew the girl tried. But it was hard to stop someone like Jungeun who moved like a raging fire.

“I told her to look for the second spirit, but this one was alone.”

It was the truth, she knew that. But Jungeun had gotten crafty in the last years. She’d take on the stronger of a pair or manage to take the one with the least darkness more quickly before joining you with the other one. 

No matter what happened, she always managed to expend the most light. And usually the most injuries, even if those were just scratches. 

“Let me come with you,” Jinsoul said. “We haven’t been out in weeks.” 

Jungeun opened . 

“Getting Viian doesn’t count.” 

She closed it. Her brow furrowed. “I want you there too,” she said. “But right now, when there’s not enough light for more than two spirits,” she trailed off, “and with you working like you are, it’s just not safe.”

“And it’s safe for you?” Jinsoul knew the words came out a hiss. 

Jungeun’s eyes widened at that. “Safer. Patrol’s the only thing I do. You’re doing everything you can here.” 

“Then what about when the moon’s full? When I have enough light leftover?” she asked. “What’s the excuse going to be then?”

Silence. 

Jinsoul saw Jungeun’s guilt before she felt her own pain. 

“‘Soul,” Jungeun murmured. “I’m not avoiding you.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.” 

She bit her lip. “But I mean it.” 

“Then if you’re not doing it because of that, then why?” Jinsoul asked. “Because protecting me isn’t the right answer if you’re not even protecting yourself.” 

Jungeun didn’t respond. The water on her cheek fell away, the wound now much better than it had been. Jinsoul still didn’t know how fast it would heal, especially with how the spirits were changing. What if the wounds they inflicted would last longer, even if you handled it with magic. 

No matter the case, she’d give her a healing potion tomorrow. Something about Jungeun’s injuries seemed off. She’d felt the same thing about the others she’d tended to. Even Nuala was more alert when it came to them. 

Jungeun was the first one to break the silence again. “If you get hurt, a healer and a fighter get hurt,” she said. “I get hurt, it’s just a fighter.” 

Jinsoul found many things wrong with that sentence. She started to protest, but Jungeun kept going. 

“You’re the best of both worlds, I’m only in one of them.” Her eyes flicked between hers and the ground. “You're one of the best healers we have. And there’s only one person who can infuse water with light.” Now Jungeun held her gaze. “Yerim’s joining you once she figures out how to work light into the plants, but that’s still gonna take long. And Nuala’s realised that she needs you, especially now. We all need you here.” 

But I need you, Jinsoul thought. She didn’t dare say it. She hated how Jungeun was right. She also hated how it matched exactly with what Jungeun did anyway. 

“But.on the full moon,” Jungeun put a hand to her shoulder, “we go. You, me, and Yerim.” 

In the back of her mind, Jinsoul was glad that Chuu wasn't included in that. She felt guilty for feeling that. 

Despite her leftover frustration, she still smiled. “Okay.” 

_____

“How about this,” Haseul clasped her hands together, “what we’re most closely tied to, or at least have been for the longest, is the easiest to call upon. Like how a sigil'll take me ages, but if I make it out of light, I get it right sooner.” 

“So you want me to call on the rock?” Vivi crossed her arms. 

She nodded. 

Vivi fought a sigh, feeling more than at a loss for what to do. Digging deep into the ground, she made a sliver of the stone liquid and brought it up. In thin grey tendrils it came. 

Haseul’s eyes were locked on it. 

She made it solidify in a block and let it fall on the ground. 

“That’s really awesome.” Haseul knelt to inspect it. 

She was about to dismiss it as the elf’s attempt to make her feel better when she saw her expression. It was pure interest. During breakfast—in the late evening, something Vivi wasn't getting used to—the elf's brow had been perpetually furrowed. Vivi had been hearing murmurs about other elves, something brief about a person called Olivia, and complaints about injuries they'd gotten days ago. All by dark spirits, despite them having all the means to heal those wounds. 

Where Haseul fit in there, Vivi didn't know yet. She also wasn't sure if she was allowed to ask or not. Haseul would probably tell her, but what would be running through the eavesdroppers' heads? They still looked at Vivi as if she were unwelcome. She was sure those looks would still be there next year. Probably longer. 

Haseul reached out tentatively, finally touching it. “It’s cold?” 

Vivi smiled. “It’s from several meters below. Of course it is.” 

“So there’s no heat added to it?” She tapped it, as if checking if it were hollow. 

“No,” she replied. “Just magic.” 

Haseul smiled. “Just magic,” she repeated. Then she straightened. “Put moonlight in it. Make it glow.” A pause. “Pull it apart first and call on something else. Think of how you’d make it stronger.” 

Vivi divided it into drops of stone. She watched them flow, their surfaces rippling in the air. She tried to dig within herself. She’d been in the moonlight night, not even sleeping. Now she was exhausted, but still felt well rested. So it was no fluke that people believed she had a tie to the moon. At least there was that. 

She found nothing. 

Haseul stepped closer, avoiding the droplets of rock. “Place your focus on the different parts of your body.” She raised a hand. “May I?”

Vivi didn’t know what she was really asking for. She still nodded. 

Warm fingers touched the center of her chest. “Only pay attention to where my hand is.” 

It must’ve looked bizarre from afar, but if this worked, Vivi wouldn’t let herself think too much of it. 

Haseul smelled like a forest after rain. Her breathing was easy, and her gaze gentle, only on Vivi’s eyes. 

It was slightly unnerving. 

“Focus on my hand,” she repeated. 

Vivi did. She only felt the warmth from the hand. Otherwise nothing. 

Then Haseul placed a hand on her shoulder. Nothing 

Her other shoulder. Nothing. 

Her stomach. Nothing. 

Arms. Nothing. 

Hands. Nothing. 

Knees. Nothing. 

Feet. Nothing. 

Vivi laughed. “What’s next? My nose?” 

Haseul straightened. “Actually your waist." She smiled back at her and even gave her a wink. “But maybe.” She placed her hand on Vivi’s forehead. 

There was a tingling sensation. One that yearned to reach for Haseul’s hand. It quelled the frustration that had been building. It settled Vivi’s previously quickened heart. It felt wonderful.

“Oh,” Vivi let out a content sigh, “and how has that escaped my notice?” 

Haseul grinned. “You have to become aware of it. Like your heartbeat, breathing, or blinking.” She brushed a thumb across Vivi’s eyebrow. The skin tingled underneath it. “Now direct it at the other part of you. The one holding the rock.” 

Vivi pulled at it. Slowly, it moved, like lugging a piece of stone with one’s arms. Vivi had trained for that too, having ample material to test her strength with. She pulled, her muscles definitely undertrained. 

Slowly, it gave. Vivi pushed it to the stone. Then pulled the droplets together. That was easy. Very much like blinking. 

Haseul turned around and laughed. “Yes!” 

Vivi redirected her attention from the very happy elf and to the stone. The grey glittered where it hadn’t before, with veins of light coursing through it. 

“Can I try something else?” Haseul pulled her hand away and stood just beside her. 

Their shoulders brushed together. 

“Try it,” Vivi said. 

The rock lifted shakily. 

“Wow,” Haseul breathed out, “that’s strange.” 

“You’re lifting the light part of it?” 

She nodded. “But there’s resistance. A lot of it.” 

“Stone's heavy,” Vivi finished.

Haseul snorted. “Yep.” 

The moonlight-infused rock fell.

The elf went over and picked it up. “Lighter than pure rock,” she looked slightly strained, “but still heavy.” 

Vivi took it from her. She was right. She tossed it between her hands. 

Haseul’s brow was raised as she looked at her. “Show off.” 

She smiled. “It’s training. My magic doesn’t give me even more strength.” Even with supernatural strength, a large chunk of rock wasn't something you lifted without some muscle. 

“So you practiced lifting rocks? With your hands?” 

“Moonlight is, well, light. Easy to swing hard. Rock is rock,” Vivi explained. 

“True,” Haseul nodded, “but the combination might be even better than both.” 

“You think so?” 

“Wolves are beasts,” she said, her green eyes darkening. “Moonlight bothers them, but most attacks are merely splinters for them. And there're spirits that can properly hurt, as you saw.” She shrugged. “So a stronger blow to either would be more effective than the pure light.” She raised a slim dagger of light. 

“Is that why you put elementals on the outside?” Vivi asked. 

“Not officially,” Haseul replied. “To actually say the light is weaker to vampires and such is quite close to blasphemy.”

“And if someone gets killed because they believed in that?”

Her eyes turned sad. “That’s why we have to acknowledge it in the first place.” 

Something in her voice uncovered a deep pain in Vivi. It wasn't hers, but felt for this person she barely knew. Haseul was a leader. While others might not respect her, let alone like her, they acknowledged that fact. Many had been taught by Haseul, despite her not being so experienced. What mistakes had she made? Or what mistakes did she think she’d made? 

“Well,” Haseul smiled, “I’d call this a successful session.” The corners of trembled, as though forcing the smile was taking a toll on her muscles. 

“You want me to do something else,” Vivi said. She could see it. She’d also try it if that took Haseul’s mind from whatever dark place she was in. 

“Maybe.” Her eyes regained their sparkle. Maybe that was another thing about her. She was resilient to her pain. “My plan was getting you doing precision work so you can make something like this.” She twirled her dagger. It had grooves in the handle and a serrated edge. Precision. “But I think it’ll be enough if you can do that with a dagger of stone, but there’s light in the blade.”

“Sounds very simple,” Vivi grumbled. “It took me very long to be precise with stone.” 

“So you’ll know the steps you have to take.” Haseul winked. “But I’m just here to teach you the ways of the Astra,” a serene expression appeared, “patience, discipline, and bigotry.”

She let out a laugh. “You’re good with all but the third one.” 

The smile that earned her was as bright as the moon itself. It was like the first time she’d heard Haseul's voice. Her eyes focused in on it fully, almost completely ignoring the woods around them. 

They kept up the training. It involved getting Vivi to make a blade out of stone and light. It took long, but Haseul never got impatient. She only made small jokes here and there with a glow to her that wasn’t a result of the moonlight. Vivi found herself enjoying the day—or night—the longer it went on. She was disappointed when she finally figured it out and they went back to the camp. Compared to what had come before and what was probably going to come after, it'd been a good day. 

______

Author's Note

Next chapter, I'll be having Olivia's perspective, but I really wanted to spend a little more time in the camp itself. First there was Lipsoul, as I wanted to show a bit more of their dynamic between each other. And then Viseul, because they're currently the more 'laidback' of the different characters. I also love them both very much (this applies to all of them, but I think you know what I mean). They also have no history with each other, unlike the rest. 

I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Let me know what you think so far (doesn't have to be about what just happened). See you next chapter.