"You never said I couldn't cheat! You said I should believe!" he countered, laughing.
I couldn't help but giggle at his attempt to argue my accusation.
We raced up until we caught a glimpse of white and black fur, huddled together. I increased my speed, beating Elias by a few inches as we landed on the opposite branch.
"I WIN!" I cheered.
"You're supposed to let me win, Firefly." Elias frowned.
I dropped my hands, feeling bad. "Um...we can try again?" I proposed.
He grinned. "Next time," he vowed.
"MEW!"
"MEOW!"
We turned our attention to the two familiars, wagging their tails at our entrance.
"You know, sometimes I wonder if you climb trees on purpose, so we can come get you," I scolded Nightmare.
She whimpered; her tails glowed blue.
I sighed, hopping on their branch. "Alright, don't be so sad. Come here," I called out.
Nightmare immediately jumped in my arms. She snuggled against my chest; her tails went from blue to pink as she purred. She then climbed onto my shoulder.
Moonlight stayed still, staring at us.
"Moonlight? Why are you staying on that half over there?" I asked, curious.
"You think he's afraid the branch will break?" Elias suggested.
I looked over my shoulder to Elias.
"I highly doubt it. Like...this branch isn't flimsy like that other time. Plus, he's a cat. His weight isn't going to make a dramatic difference," I pointed out.
"You should be fine." Elias crossed his arms; his eyes still on Moonlight.
"What?" I asked, following his gaze to Moonlight, who continued to sit in place; his tail waved back and forth.
"I don't know. I just feel weird. Maybe it's EliaseAnne. I don't notice it much, but now that Moonlight and Nightmare are both together like this it's making me a tad dizzy," he admitted.
I frowned. "We should head back down. I don't want you feeling dizzy fifty feet up," I cautioned, my voice stern.
He gave me a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Firefly. But, I do agree and would rather not fall to my demise. You do that enough," he noted.
I let out a huff; Moonlight finally walked over to my side. I knelt onto the branch and picked him up, allowing him to position himself on my other shoulder; his tail wrapped around my neck.
"I don't fall to my— " I began until the branch beneath me broke, causing us to fall downward. SHIT!
I quickly gripped onto both Nightmare and Moonlight, as we began to fall, the branches seemingly moving out of the way. Something wrapped around my waist, stopping me right before a thick branch hit my face.
I sighed in relief, lifting my head to see Elias who frowned. I gave him a small smile. "Oops?"
"We need to make you trouble proof. Better yet, we should ask the gods to put you in a bubble so trouble can't get near you." Elias sighed, lifting me up to the branch he stood on.
"It wasn't my fault," I pointed out.
"Uh huh. It's the cats." He looked down to Moonlight and Nightmare, who tilted their heads in confusion.
"Meow?"
"Mew?"
"Sometimes I wonder if you two are Starlight gods," Elias blurted, eyeing them.
I blinked, looking away.
He noticed, raising an eyebrow. "Makoto."
"Hmm?"
"You’re hiding something."
"I'm not."
"Can you take a one-way ticket to hell?" He grinned as I gawked at him.
"That's not fair!" I countered.
"Proves you’re hiding something," he argued.
I let out a huff, looking at the two familiars on my shoulders. They both brushed their heads against my cheeks; a feeling of reassurance flooded through me.
I guess that means it's okay?
"EliaseAnne already knows, so you might as well tell Elias. He won't say anything," Midnight suggested.
I guess...
"Can we go down first?" I asked.
He nodded. "Ya. I’d rather get down," he admitted. His arm slipped around my waist; the same magic circles returned then formed beneath him, but larger. "Hold on, Firefly," he warned.
I nodded, tightening my hold around his waist. He stepped off the branch, descending slowly down the remaining distance to the ground; the branches carefully maneuvered themselves from our path.
We landed on the ground; both of us sighed in relief as Moonlight and Nightmare jumped to the ground. They began to run around us in a circle.
"No," we both said in unison.
"Mew..."
"Meow..."
We groaned at their disappointed looks; their dual turquoise eyes looked too adorable to ignore.
"Fine, but not today! We're both tired," I admitted.
They both jumped, playing around us.
Elias sighed, pulling me to one of the logs nearby. We both sat down; his hand stayed in mine.
"You okay?" I asked, feeling worried.
He nodded. "I've always noticed the feeling, but with Nightmare, I can ignore it for a long period of time. It's kinda like when we're in a classroom full of shifters and there's just too much power around so the room gets stuffy? It's like that. Now with Nightmare and Moonlight, it's just getting to me a little," he explained.
I nodded, understanding what he meant. I hadn't taken into the fact that the others must have felt that way through classes. After years of being in the arena and experimental rooms filled with shifters of various strengths and magic caliber, I'd forgotten how it felt when you had to work on adapting to such levels. The only way to do that was constantly putting yourself in those situations and allowing your body to get familiar and strengthen your mental awareness.
It didn't get rid of the feeling, but it made it almost unnoticeable. With the gods, however, it was a dramatic difference. I just didn't feel it much with Nightmare, but noticed the difference with Moonlight's presences.
I shuffled over a bit, rewarding me a confused look from Elias. I smiled, patting my lap. "Lay down for a bit," I encouraged.
He looked at my lap and back to my eyes as if for confirmation.
I nodded.
He laid down, resting his head on my lap as he looked up at me. "So, this is how it feels to lay in the lap of the woman you love," he mumbled, causing me to blush.
"How does it feel?" I whispered.
He smiled. "Nice," he replied. He closed his eyes, relaxing for a few minutes before he brought up the topic.
"Are Nightmare and Moonlight Starlight gods in familiar form?" he whispered.
"Yes," I replied, not seeing the point in dancing around the topic.
"Do the others know?"
"Nope. If possible, it's better they don't know for now. EliaseAnne and Midnight are aware. I'm assuming Scarlet is also aware, but I haven't gotten the chance to ask her."
"She is," Midnight confirmed.
How do you know that?
"I just do," Midnight replied.
I shook my head.
"Midnight states Scarlet knows," I announced.
"How does she know that?" Elias asked.
"No clue," I replied.
"Mysterious." Elias chuckled.
"Yup. That's Midnight for you." I smiled.
"Okay. I won't say anything," Elias announced. He closed his eyes before continuing. "It's nice to know Nightmare's watching over you."