The night brought with it a chill on Melaina's flesh. Not because it was cold, for the fire was quite warm and comfortable, but because night was always a dangerous time, especially when one was not within the confines of a city or town, where constant activity warned away predators.
She and her companion had lost themselves in a silent vigil of the sky. The moon was bright, turning the sky behind it into a blanket of darkness, hiding the stars by the strength of its own brilliance. She imagined that full glow shining through the lapping waves of her sea's watery ceiling. She used to lay on the sands of the ocean floor, her tail touching the blankets of kelp so she would not be lying to her mother when she said she'd stayed in bed all night while she was gone. But while her fins rested on her bed, her head and torso lay outside the cave, sand scratching the back of her hands as she folded them beneath her head, staring up at the stars. The water didn't seem so clear during the day as it was at night, the shallower area of their tribe's home giving her a beautiful view of the stars dancing to the rippling whims of the sea's current. The moon would shimmer and shine, quivering like a silverfish' fins in flight, but never waver until it settled down to bed to allow daybreak to commence. There were nights, all alone in their den, when Melaina had stayed up until dawn turned the ocean gold, the moon her constant companion through long nights of worries and fears.
It looked different without the ocean playing a curtain between them, but the moon was still her for her, a faithful companion. A little bit of home, it seemed, even here on dry land. That made the ache in her heart burn a little less, so when Alina returned from Moonstrider's side and offered food in exchange for a song, Melaina felt well enough to oblige her with one that her mother had taught her as a child.
"Once there was a little boy who broke a cardinal rule;
He stayed up passed his bedtime like a sorry little fool.
He thought to trick his parents into thinking him asleep,
So he stuffed pillows in his blankets and out the door he sneaked.
He climbed across the hilltops, laughing gleeful in the night.
He thought himself a genius 'til he had a terrible fright.
The sun sank low on the horizon and the sky turned pitch and black,
And though the little boy tried he could not find his way back.
He tumbled down the hillside, scraping knees on sticks and stones,
And he feared falling off the side and breaking all his bones.
The little boy sat still and silent, though tears streamed down his cheeks,
For he's sure he'd be lost out here for weeks and weeks and weeks.
But as he cried for his mother, lost, scared, and alone,
The world turned beneath him and the night's sun groaned.
Woken from her nap on the other side of the world,
The moon stretched above the horizon and rose up, arms unfurled.
"Why do you cry, little night-seeker?" the moon wondered of the boy,
"You are exploring my kingdom and that should bring you joy.
For I am the Queen and the Goddess of the Night,
And I will chase away all monsters with my blue-silver light."
The boy stared up at the moon, this guardian of the sky,
And wondered how he could have slept each night as she passed him by,
For she was beautiful, shining bright, dimming all the stars,
And he wished that he could kiss her cheek, though she was much too far.
"I am a little wanderer," he told her, slightly shy,
"But I have lost my way and I admit it made me cry,
For the night was a scary place after the sun left me alone,
But with you here the night is bright and safe and feels like home."
Flattered, the moon smiled at him, but she knew more than he,
For she was ancient and forever and he might have reached your knee,
But the moon was a guardian of all creatures of the night
And he was wandering her kingdom so she couldn't ignore his plight.
"My light shines for only so long, little wanderer in the dark,
And it is not so bright that it could outshine a campfire's spark,
But you are a sweet boy and you should know the joy it is to roam,
So wipe your tears from your face and let me lead you home."
The little boy wiped his face dry and hiked up his sleeping shorts
And the two set off across the hillside like long-time cohorts.
The moon lit the way as the boy trekked across the land,
Showing him grass and mountainside, sea and surf and sand.
He walked and she hovered, guiding his journey west,
And his yawning grew more frequent as did his need to rest.
The moon could hear the sun crying, calling for the morn,
But she would not leave her little wanderer until home she'd had him borne.
It was when his mother picked him up and clutched him to her chest
That the moon bade him a farewell and settled down to rest.
The night had been a long one, the longest of the year,
And the sun was angry for her stealing hours that were so dear.
But the moon is a guardian of the night and all its creatures.
It dared not leave one in need of her kind and glowing features.
So this is the story of a Moon who is ageless
Who turned her generosity into the first winter Solstice."
Melaina ended the song staring up at the moon, her guiding light in the dark, a small smile on her face. Her mother had sung that song to her as a child, on nights when sleep did not come easily and the two were together. Melaina would lay her head on her mother's chest, occasionally pressing a hand to the growing belly where her half-sibling grew, and listen as her mother sang, the murmur of her voice and the vibration against Melaina's ear a cocoon of safety against frightening dreams.
The moon had become her guardian, too. And though she knew that the moon did not create the longest night of the year to protect a little boy from the dark, the lullaby had always been a balm for her as a child.
She wished adulthood were so easily frightened away with a lullaby, but that was not how life worked.
"HELP!!" The cry came from nowhere and everywhere, echoing in her mind with a ring of desperation that choked peaceful memories from her grasp. She sat up straight with a gasp.
She turned to Alina, noting the woman's frantic face. "Hear?" she asked. "Help?"
"I heard." Melaina noted Moonstrider's antsy movements to her left and wondered if the horse had also heard the cry. "It's possible it's a predatory seeking a good meal," she admitted, though she had never heard of a predator with a cry that was telepathic rather than auditory. Even her own siren song needed to be uttered aloud. She was just about to suggest they remain where they were, safe by a fire that would keep predators away, when someone burst through the trees into their clearing.
“Excuse me, but... did you cry for help?”
Melaina moved slowly. He didn't look like a threat, but that didn't mean anything, and though his voice didn't sound like the telepathic cry had, she couldn't ignore the possibility that he might have been the one to call out, attempting to lure them away from safety. Who wanders around in the dark forest at night? Her hand slid behind her back, grasping the hilt of one of her daggers, out of the boy's line of sight.
"I didn't hear anything," she lied. She eyed him up and down, her eyes narrowed to try and see him where he stood in the dark with the bright light of their fire blinding her. Clever trick. "You're taking a fair chance wandering the woods at night. Not afraid of getting eaten?" Might be the one doing the eating.
If that was the case, he'd picked a poor target. Sirens didn't just drown sailors for fun. They ate their prey.
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