In the center of a living room Theia sat hunched forward with her face burrowed in her hands. Her fingers were driven tightly into skin as tears trickled down her arm.
Soft sobs escaped from behind her hand, a grieving outcry. Since escaping that cursed abandoned mansion, Theia had never cried like this before. Even before whenever she cried it was a desperate cry, but now it was as if she had quietly given up on trying.
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sat up straight; her gaze wandered onto the ceiling.
Theia's eyes were red and noticeably swollen. Her nose was clogged as snot ran down to her lip. She tried to hold herself together, but all she could manage was a strained, forced expression.
"What am I doing?", Theia sighed, her gaze unfocused as memories pressed in. "I should've known it would end like this."
"Her voice… it hurt so much." Theia closed her eyes and turned her head to the right. "Luna, you should've told me sooner. You shouldn't have kept it buried."
A shaky breath slipped past her lips. "I wonder… what else she hid from me?", Theia let out a soft huff through her nose while sliding her thumb across her palm.
She opened her eyes and in front of her was a floating wolf, certainly a wolf. He had dark blue fur that shimmered like frost under starlight, fading to a belly of pure white. Fox-like ears, dusted with frost, perched atop its head, and his elongated mouth curled into a smile.
"Do you know what a dualist is?" Niva asked.
Theia jumped away with a muffled scream as she placed her hand over it. She hit the end of the sofa and extended her hand. A semi-transparent cube appeared around Niva. It glowed with a gentle bluish light. "W-who are you?" Theia asked
"Do you know what a dualist is?"
Theia shook her head while keeping her eyes strictly on the wolf.
I can't let it get to Luna! I have to protect her! That elf is useless; I have to protect her. Theia thought.
"W-what are you?!" Theia shouted, loud enough to attract attention but quiet enough to not wake Luna up.
"I am your Luna's familiar, a bound spirit, one might say," Niva sighed. "Theia, I will never hurt Luna. So you can trust me."
"N-no! I don't trust you! You just want to hurt her! I will not allow you!"
"Theia, look at me. Look in my eyes and listen. Luna is Niv, right?" Niva said.
Her eyes shot right open, her mouth opened slightly, and she muttered, "How do you know that?"
"Because I know her as much as you do. She is someone precious to me; I treasure her the same way you do, do you get it?"
Theia hesitated while staring right into him; his gaze left a cloud of mystery that Theia could not ignore. "H-how can I trust you?"
"You can't. I can't convince you until you do it first yourself. So please lift the barrier and let us talk normally, okay?" Niva said softly, trying to reassure Theia.
And so she reluctantly lifted the barrier, still keeping her arm in the air. "I'll let you out… b-but don't think I trust you! If you make one wrong move, I will kill you!"
Niva snickered, muttering to himself, "Not like the barrier works on a spirit… But anyway! Thank you for being rational. I will tell you something that only Luna herself knows, so listen to me closely, understand?"
Theia nodded, now slightly more convinced than before, but her eyes had the tint of doubt. Niva knew that he, a spirit with the body of a wolf appearing out of nowhere, bordered on insanity to anyone. So he did not expect any cooperation, but he was pleasantly surprised by Theia's trust.
She's… really naive… Niva thought.
"Do you remember my first question?"
Theia nodded as she let her arm fall upon her lap.
"A dualist is a body that has the capability of holding two souls at the time, and do you know what a daemon is?"
"Dae—mon? What's that?" Theia asked, visibly confused.
"A daemon it's what people call a being that has two souls inside it. In old folk tales, there was a story about a kid who was a dualist and was a daemon; in short, he was burned on a stake. And why do you think I would ask you this?"
"...Because it's related to Luna?" Theia muttered, barely loud enough to be heard.
"Exactly, that's what she is, and because of that she is dying, struck with White Death; her soul is being eroded over time, and she would die eventually. She should've been dead long ago, but because she is a daemon, her first soul was destroyed, and the second took over. Now you understand why she did not tell you? She really cares about you,"
"Ah—" Theia muttered, a small smile creeping on Theia's face, "B-but why she didn't tell me about you—"
"That's because people would see me and think that I'm an evil spirit. And Luna would've been burned."
Now a wide smile with a bright red brush spreading from ear to ear on Theia's face, "Ah… I see."
Not exactly, most of it is a lie, but the part about her first soul dying and awakening abruptly is true and her being a dualist and a daemon… I guess that's most of it…but, Niva thought, At least I can do this much for her; she'll have a better life. I'll make sure of it.
"Then what kind of spirit are you?"
"I'm a good one! Specifically an ice spirit! I am a close friend of Luna, but I figured, not as close as you are!"
Theia chuckled to herself and looked at Niva.
"I see… so she had to hide it… She did not hate me after all…" Theia muttered under her breath.
***
"What did you want to talk about ?" Theia said as they sat across themselves, each on opposite of the sofa.
"Don't you want to know my name?" Niva asked and tilted his head slowly.
"Not really…" Theia pouted.
The tense atmosphere around them turned into a sweet, enjoyable taste. Quietly they stared into each other, both smiling.
You really have a great friend and sister, Luna. I wish my mother was still with me to see you, but well… if she was you wouldn't be here… heh Niva thought.
"You're really a great friend. I said all I really wanted, I am out of things to say. Maybe you have something interesting, surely something about Luna?"
"Oh sure… " She thought for a good second, thinking of what she would say. Of course the only thing that came to her mind was Luna, it was obvious she would be the topic, but what about her she would say, is a question
Hobbies, abilities or … YES! of her personality! Theia wondered in her mind.
"I have it! Let's talk about Luna herself, about the person she is!" She pushed herself with her arm off the sofa and looked directly into Niva's eyes.
"If that's what you want… Sure, you start,"
Luna lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, her voice soft with admiration. "You see, Luna is the kindest in the world. I was once… trapped in the basement. Not exactly locked up, but I couldn't move—I was trapped inside my own body. For such a long, long time. And then Luna came. She… she rescued me. She repaired me and now… She is my savior."
"I don't remember seeing her do it… but alright," Niva said, a small smile tugging at his snout. "Luna is like that but what else do you find interesting?"
"There's more!" Theia's eyes shone with emotion. "Luna is so dedicated like she'd help anyone! Ask her, and she'd do it without even blinking. There was one time… she saved me when I needed constant mana to function, but I couldn't gather it myself. She had to pour it into me. When she realized this, she vowed to recreate an artefact that could gather mana for me on its own." Her voice cracked, and tears slipped down her cheeks. "I can't help but love her… Did she do things like that for you too?"
Niva watched her ramble, secretly savoring every word of praise she gave Luna. He exhaled slowly, chest rising and falling with quiet awe. "Yes… she did. She did so many things."
A memory flickered across his vision, days long gone, of his white-haired mother on a sun-dappled hill. She had placed a crown of flowers on his head, her voice light and teasing: "Niva~ Have this!"
Another memory came, sharper this time, of his mother years later in a snowy village. Amid the hush of falling snow, she gently laid a crown of white lilies on his hair. "Niva~ wear this!" she said, her breath misting in the cold.
And then a third flash of memories, bitter and tender, of his mother on her deathbed, coughing blood, surrounded by faces he had already forgotten. Her hands were frail and trembling, but she still tried to knit a crown of flowers for him. It was crooked, imperfect, yet Niva had been happy. She whispered, barely audible, "N-niva~ h-have this…"
He turned to Theia, who continued to ramble on, but her words didn't reach his ears. He looked at her, and his eyes softened, snout curled in quiet reverence. "Yes… she is wonderful," he murmured.