Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It always started with the hallway. The honmoon hissed with magenta light, filling up the entire household, echoing from downstairs. Then Poppy screams. She runs down as fast as she can but the hallway seems infinitely long. She can see the door, the talisman right in front of her but it feels like an eternity away, with each step being heavier than the last. She doesn’t know how long she’s been awake for. Only that she has a job. A duty.

When she finally crosses the threshold of eternity, she finds heaven and hell in the shape of a woman. She has a smile so warm it was like feeling the first rays of sunshine after a winter storm. Deep, rich brow eyes, like the steady earth, and long black hair that came down her back like a river. She was everything. She was always everything.

And she was covered in patterns, from head to toe.

Her own voice feels separate from her body, like she’s listening from afar, “I thought we had time! Poppy what happened?” The not-voice cries in a panic.

“It’s been accelerating! Celine, you have to make a call.” Poppy growled, as her weapon was half formed in the honmoon.

Celine saw her and she was radiant. She wasn’t gone yet. They still had time. She still looked at her with those same loving eyes. She still smiled at her, even if it looked different now. Colder.

“Celine, Poppy is right. You are the leader, and you have to make a call on this. I can only hold out for so long.” She giggled as if she weren’t the one in danger. As if this were just another day and not the end of the world. The end of her world.

“We…we can still do it. We can still make the honmoon golden. The…the theory holds and we just need to release another solo, or do a photoshoot or -” The not voice murmurs, grasping for anything, everything. Hope was fleeting but what little she had left, she would use.

“My love.” is all she has to say to snap Celine to attention. Her hands cradle Celine’s cheeks so lovingly. She shouldn’t be standing. She should be resting, fighting. Why was she up? Why was she so active? How did she move so fast without the honmoon?

“I know its scary. I know its hard. But I need you right now. I can only hold on for a little longer. I can feel it. And you can too. I know you can.” She said as her eyes flit between that deep brow and an acrid gold.

“Please…Please don’t ask this of me, there has to be another-”

“I’ll kill her.” The visage of her love says so sweetly. 

“What?” Celine feels the blood freeze in her veins.

“Rumi. I’ll kill her at this rate. I can hear him, right now, whispering in my ear. If I kill her, then I’ll fix everything. Then we’ll be able to be together. He tells me that she represents my mistake, my mistake in trusting a demon. If I kill her all will be right.”

Celine’s eyes widen as she sees Miyeong's smile flicker on her face. She was fighting so hard. She was always fighting, even if she didn’t look like it. Her harmony demanded it.

Our faults and fears should never be seen.

“Celine…you promised me. You promised us that you would do what was necessary to protect my little girl.” She said so softly, so cruelly, as if she weren’t tearing someone's hearts to shreds. Like she was asking for a favor, or help with a chore.

The world gets blurry and hazy, “I…I don’t…I can’t…Please don’t…don’t make me do this please, I’ll do anything, just please, Miyeong I can’t.” She hears the far voice whimpering, pleading. The world becomes a blurry tear filled haze, the walls are spinning. The honmoon roars and quiets over and over like the shattering of glass against stone.

“You can. Baby you are the only one who can. And I need you to so that she will be safe. I…I’d rather it be you. Please.” Miyeong gives her that look again. That hunger dipped in pride. It haunts her, it still haunts her.

“You love me right, brave leader?” She murmurs softly, like a prayer, like a promise.

“Yes…yes forever yes. So please-”

“Then do as I ask. Trust me…one last time. Have I ever steered you wrong?” She chuckles.

Yes she had. She had so many times. She was impulsive, and ridiculous, and everything that was right with the world in all the wrong ways, and she was perfect, and she was here and she was begging for the impossible from her because how could she ever tear away this brilliant thing from the world. 

The only thing harder than killing her was denying her. She could see it. Feel it. Miyeong was so tired. Even now when she was smiling and joking like she had before, she was so tired. She was so far away, and she was begging for help and Celine loved her, she loved her so so so much. 

“Celine make the call!” Poppy cried

She loved her so so much. This was her everything. Her always.

“Baby, please.” Miyeong whispered breathlessly, as her features slowly warped, becoming more demonic by the second.

She was so beautiful.

“Celine!”

She was terrible.

“Beloved…”

She was a demon.

“GOD DAMNIT CELINE WHAT DO WE DO-”

And Celine was a demon hunter.

“You are the only one I can trust to do this.” she pleaded as tears began to stream down her face. She was still smiling.

Duty Above All.

The honmoon hums in resonance as her mind is pulled to a far off place. A thousand years of memories filtered through, and aligned by one defining trait.

Duty Above All

Even now, she can hear Miyeongs song, playful and seductive.

She can hear poppys song, Joyful and sporadic.

In this moment, her harmony is the only thing that keeps her sane. The only thing that drives her to act, the only thing she can rely on when her will is not her own and everything is so far away and it hurts and it hurts and it hurts and it hurts-

Duty Above All

Strings of soulstuff are woven from her song, from her pain and sorrow made manifest as a wail. The honmoon responds to her call, pulling forth her weapons of starlight, two single egded blades whose bells rang true no matter what.

“I can’t” The not voice murmured

“You can” Miyeong laughed

“You’ll die.” The world is shaking.

“We all die.” She steps back with open arms.

“He’ll take you.” it hisses

“...He already owns me.” Miyeong whispered

“...I love you.” The voice says.

“I know.” Says the demon.

“CELINE SHES GOING TO TELPORT”

“Celine, I’m going to go kill her now.”

“CELINE-”

“Celine~”

“CEL-”

Duty Above All

The cuts are faster than the eye can track as the head goes flying. The body begins to disintegrate immediately, even as she can still see her lovers smiling face.

She was always smiling. Even when it hurt she was smiling.

Something inside of her own heart shattered and she couldn’t breath. She couldn’t think. All she could do was scream and scream and scream and SCREAM

“Miss Celine!” She could feel the demonic presence resurface.

Celine’s eyes snapped open as she spun around, sickle manifested into reality. She had to do it, she had to, otherwise Rumi, would be-

A six year old Rumi stood at the edge of the bed, frozen in fear as Celines sickle stopped inches from her neck. She was crying. Rumi was crying and Celine was awake, and in her room and oh gods. Her weapon vanished in an instant.

“Rumi, I’m…I’m so sorry, I-” Her breath heaved like she had just surfaced from the ocean.

“I-I’m sorry f-for waking you up…you were just…screaming…again. I…I was scared…” Tears were flowing down her eyes.

“...Come here.” Celine said quietly, pulling her up onto the bed, “You…shouldn’t have seen that. You didn’t do anything wrong. I did. I…I’ve done a lot of things wrong.” She said gently, carding her fingers through the little girl's hair.

“But I promise I will do right by you. I will make sure that you have the best teachers. You will have the best life, and you will be the strongest hunter.”

Rumi trembled at her side, even as she girled into her chest, “Mmm.”

“I’m…sorry I frightened you. That was not my intention.”

“I know.” She murmured.

Celine felt her heart break again. She couldn’t let Rumi see her like this. Couldn’t let her know.

Your faults and fears should never be seen.

Duty Above All

“...was it about my mom again?” She murmured sleepily.

“...Yes.” Celine said softly.

“Do you miss her?” Rumi asked innocently. 

Your faults and fears should never be seen.

“Every day.” She says with a smile far calmer than she felt.

“...Why can’t you be my mom Miss Celine?” Rumi pleaded

Duty Above All

“Because you already have a mother. Her name is Ryu Miyeong..,and she loved you very much…so much.”

“But you are here…and she isn’t. Doesn’t that make you my mom?”

Celine’s mind was here but her heart was still in that room, “...You’ll understand when you are older. For now…go to sleep.”

“...I love you Miss Celine.” Rumi murmured into her shoulder.

Celine cradled the back of her head, “I love you too Rumi. And I will make sure to give you the life she couldn’t.”

Duty Above All.

Celine closed her eyes, and the darkness took her yet again.

She hoped that one day, she would get to see her light again.

And when she did, she hoped that she would know that she had done right by their little girl.

Chapter Text

Mira woke up feeling like she was being crushed. Her lungs could barely pull in air, and she couldn’t even move. The only indicator of her restraints was the sound of someone murmuring on her chest and the wet spot formed right below their head.

“Zoey…” Mira groaned. It was the third time she’d snuck into her bed. Mira was starting to think that she was just alternating between rooms. She’d have to ask Rumi about that.

“Mmm…ten more minutes….the pink panther is letting me give her scritches…” She grumbled, turning over.

Miria squinted, “What does that…Zoey, we’ve gotta get up. Training about the start, and if we don’t get up soon-”

The Door slammed open as the Harbinger of Doom entered the room: Rumi The Ruthless.

Mira’s body froze, and she closed her eyes. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep Rumi would-

“I can tell that you are awake, Mira.” She recited softly. 

“Hehehe hey Ruthless. This isn’t what it looks like…” Mira said with a half hearted smile.

“Oh? What do you think it looks like? I’m not quite sure.” Rumi’s replied hollowly as she took a step forward.

“Uh It looks like me and Zoey cuddling instead of getting up for practice?”

“Hm. That does seem to be an accurate description. Do you have an alternative explanation?” Rumi requests as she stands by the side of the bed, looming over them. Her face is impassive as ever but over the last few months of training, Mira had gotten much better at reading her. Her current variant of monotone denoted…want but frustration? 

“...You know if you want, you can join us. Celine can’t ground us all.” Mira said playfully, wiggling out a hand.

Rumi looked at her for a moment, and Mira could tell she was considering it. Come on Ruminator.

“No, I don’t think I will.” She said before lifting the mattress, Zoey screeched and Mira howled as they both tumbled to the ground.

“RUMI I SWEAR TO THE SPIRITS I'M GOING TO PUT BUGS IN YOUR SOUP!” Zoey grouched from the ground as she reoriented herself.

“Most insects are a decent source of protein, so I suppose that would be fine.” Rumi replied

Mira chuckled, “You should have known that wasn’t going to work.”

“How!? Who wants to eat bugs!?!?!? That’s just not what humans do!!!???”

“Factually incorrect. There are multiple tribes across the world that treat many forms of insects as delicacies. In fact one could describe arthropods like the shrimp, crab, and lobster as-”

“LALALALALA YOU AREN’T RUINING SEAFOOD FOR ME LALALALALA” Zoey yelled while plugging her ears.

Mira couldn’t help but snicker, and despite her doing her level best to not look amused, she knew Rumi was having a good time too.

And then Celine walked into the door frame with a raised eyebrow.

“I see you are all awake enough to make a fuss. That means you are awake enough for your morning chores.” The woman said sternly. She was in her plain grey robes, with a simple white blouse and grey-white pants, but her every move commanded respect. Mira was convinced it was at least halfway magic.

“Yes Celine” All three teens said in unison as they untangled themselves from one another and tried to pretend like they definitely weren’t goofing off.

She gave them a knowing stare that lingered before continuing, “You all have progressed far enough in your basic training for us to move onto the advanced courses. After breakfast, meet me in the training yards by the tree. You will begin your hunter training properly from this day forward.”

There was a beat of silence as they all sat awestruck. They had been training for almost three years since zoey got here, getting everyone up to Celine’s “Standard”. Which was insane. She had them running, jumping, dancing, singing, sometimes all at the same time, with meditations in between. Mira had never worked so hard in her life. 

All of this time without learning anything about magic, or demons, or even much about kpop. Just Celine going on and on about getting a solid foundation.

“We’re ready?” She breathed out with disbelief. They were never going to be ready. Celine was a crazy woman who expected them to be perfect! How could they be perfect?

Celine gave a curt nod, “Unless you’d like to disagree with me?”

Zoey puts her hand over Mira’s mouth, “No Celine, what she means to say is that she loves you and this is a great idea, and we are so grateful-”

Rumi puts her hand on Zoey’s mouth, “We will see you at the field. Actually at breakfast and then the field. Thank you.”

Celine looks at all of them bewildered, “Right…”

Without another word, she leaves and the girls look to each other and cheer quietly. 

“My abs! My abs are saved!” Zoey cries out

“We are free from leg day! Rumi, Rumi we have escaped hell together!” Mira says shaking Rumi

“Er-...yay…woo…” Rumi attempts to respond, looking off to the side.

Mira knew that Rumi probably knew something, but who cared! Her muscles had muscles, and they always hurt all of the time! Anything was better than the torment they had been going through for the last few months. 

Mira sat corrected. There was one thing that could be worse. A lecture.

Celine had gotten three mats set up under the girls and a white board rolled out to the field. Where had she even gotten a whiteboard? Mira had never seen a whiteboard here.

“Alright girls, I know how hard you have been working for the past few years. I recognise your efforts and now, seek to reward them with knowledge. You have each proven that you have what it takes to embrace your destiny. You have each proven that you are not only strong in spirit, but in body and mind as well. You have each proven that you are a talent that is a cut above the rest. Know that all of these things are true…and  that you should still not take a moment of this training for granted.”

“As I’ve mentioned before, your destiny is not a safe one. There are terrors around every turn, and the world will see you shine and attempt to snuff out your light. I will not allow such a thing to happen to you, and as such, I intend to prepare you for all such eventualities. Am I understood?”

“Yes Celine” The three of them said…well not in unison but close enough.

“Hm. Very well. Let us begin with who we are and why we are here. Now I am well aware that you have all been given pieces of this information separately, but from now on, you three shall be working as a unit, and thus must be trained in that way. We will be avoiding any information asymmetry unless absolutely necessary, or if such information would endanger anyone of your teammates.”

This time both Mira and Zoey manage to respond at the same time, with Rumi replying a little after but quieter, “Yes Celine.”

“Good…now where was I…yes.” Celine began to write down words onto the whiteboard, “Over a thousand years ago, humans and spirits lived together. Not necessarily in harmony, but the human world and the spirit world were not at war. Humans would often provide offerings to spirits and the spirits would in turn provide blessings to the humans so that they could provide offerings. There were, and are, many different kinds of spiritual beings, and each had to be treated uniquely and with its own respects. The people who managed these interactions, that between the human world and the spiritual one, were the mudang, otherwise known as the Manshin, Those who wielded Ten Thousand Spirits.”

Despite her frustration, Mira did take time to write everything down. She could see Rumi doing the same thing, which was bizarre considering that she’d grown up in this world, and she saw Zoey…was that a doodle of Celine kicking a cloud? Wait, no focus.

“For a time, this was manageable and the people thrived. Not every spirit was safe, or friendly, but the dangerous ones were in the minority and were most importantly, disparate. That changed when the Profane Flame, Gwi-ma came to be. A demon lord.” Celine wrote down the words Demon Lord and double underlined it.

“A demon lord is simply the title that is given to powerful spirits that are able to unite various different spiritual clans in a war against humanity. These beings are often corrupted or changed by their connection to the demon lord, as a means for it to exert its influence on its subordinates. This was no different in Gwi-mas case. Not only did he gather wraiths, hateful spirits, and deathful souls under his command, but so too did he drag playful and benevolent races down into his domain, marking them with his patterns.”

Celine slowed down after saying that, turning back to the girls to give them a soulful look. Celine ever really looked energized, but suddenly she looked exhausted.

“...These marks are a sign of Gwi-mas influence and corruption. Any being who has them has been branded as a part of Gwi-ma’s forces…” She frowns, “These markings are the main distinguishing factor between a free spirit and a demon. Free spirits we may entreat with. Demons, we do not.”

Zoey, who was balancing a pencil on her nose, spoke up, “But what if they are being tricked or something? Surely if they used to be nice, some of them are still nice, right?”

Celine clicks her tongue, “Gwi-ma is a master of manipulation. There are no kind demons, only tricksters and liars. Each one chosen by the Demon Lord to carry out his goal: the consumption of souls.” She then writes out the goals of the demons.

“Each and every demon under Gwi-ma’s command is complicit in and actively partakes in the consumption and sacrifice of human souls to the Demon Lord. Its where he draws his strength and his sole desire. It is the reason that humanity had to turn to war when there was no option for peace because they do not want anything more than to kill and devour, and torment.” She scribbled harder into the board until the chalk in her hand broke.

The girls all paused their writing at that. Celine took a deep breath.

“There is no nice demon. They may say they are nice, but they do that to get close to you. To corrupt you. They will find any fault, any fear you have, and use it against you, and your loved ones, and try to drag everyone you care about down to hell with them…just because they can.” 

She exhales.

“Our ancestors came to this conclusion as well. After pushing back against the Demon Lords forces, and seeing the destruction he wrought upon the world, they decided that the only recourse was to banish him from this realm. To do so, the mudang of that time begged the heavens for a miracle, and the heavens responded by blessing three women, the strongest mudang of their age, with divine voices. With these voices, they could resonate with the souls of all those who heard them, such that they could work on concert with one another, just as Gwi-ma was able to bring the power of the demons together.” 

“Using this gift, the women went from village to village uplifting souls, and filling them with courage and unity instead of fear and discord. Over time, these feelings became so powerful that the women were able to harmonize thousands of souls with the same song, weaving their soul threads together to create a divine spiritual array: the Honmoon.”

Celine brushed her fingers on the humming lines around them causing a soft sound to trill out in all directions.

“While we will go into detail about what the honmoon can do, what you need to know is that the honmoon is an array, a weapon, a barrier, and a spirit in its own right. Forged from the harmony between spirits, it was a perfect barrier that banished all of those under Gwi-ma’s command from the human world. Most importantly, this removed Gwi-ma’s direct influence from the world, such that he must act through intermediaries to even attempt to do anything.”

“Though it was truly one of the greatest rituals of its time, this did come with a flaw. You see, humans are fickle creatures, and often fall into despair. Thus, the very thing that powers the honmoon is also its undoing. In order to rectify this, the women who forged the honmoon had to keep the souls in harmony, through ritual performances known as gut. That responsibility was then passed onto their children, and their children's children and down the line from me…to you three.”

“Choi Zoey of House Gak-Gung”

“Kang Mira of House Seuk-Jang ”

“Ryu Rumi of House Ssang-guem”

“Each of you carries the bloodline of these women, and have been chosen by the honmoon to be its protectors. Each one of you has undergone a spiritual awakening that has allowed you to become in tune with the spiritual realm. Each one of you now bears the responsibility to protect the honmoon and defeat the forces of Gwi-ma who wish to threaten our world. This is our legacy and what you are charged to do.”

Celine turns back to them with a heavy look, “Am I understood?”

This time, all of them nod seriously, and speak as one, “Yes Celine.”

That gets a small ghost of a smile out of her, “Very good.”

Chapter Text

Rumi remembers the first day she had her patterns. She didn’t remember how they first came about, or what brought them on. All she knew was that one day, she had a little purple bruise on her arm. At first she figured it would heal over…but the bruise grew.

Being the child she was, she brought it to Celine. Celine was very strict but also very smart, and very nice. Celine knew things about all of the images she saw, and the creatures in her dreams. It felt like Celine knew everything. So when she had a weird mark on her arm that seemed to be spreading, she had to show Celine. She would know.

And she had. She knew immediately. Even without Rumi having the words for it, Celine knew, like she always did. 

Rumi remembers her dropping her glass in the sink. She remembers the sound of it showering as Celine picked her up rougher than before. She remembered how they rushed down the halls, to where the strings were brightest, where Rumi could almost taste the magic of souls on her tongue.

She remembers Celine sitting her down on the bed at the bottom, that had been there forever and telling her that she had been marked by a monster. That she was a good girl and Celine would do everything she could to help, but that she couldn't tell anyone.

At the time Rumi hadn’t known what to think. It didn’t seem like a big deal. It was just a mark, right? 

But she didn’t want people to think she was mean. And Celine knew everything. So she did what she was told. 

Rumi would never tell her, but she had seen the relief on Celine's face. Something about this mark made her very sad, and if all Rumi had to do was keep a secret to make Celine feel better, it was easy. Celine made sure she had her favorite foods, and taught her about the song magic and how to move. Celine braided her hair and tried to teach her how to put words to feelings she couldn’t understand. Celine was always trying for her. Why wouldn’t she try for Celine?

But as she got older, the mark tried to spread. Celine was very worried about that. Apparently something bad would happen if they spread too far. Rumi didn’t know what, but she could feel them now. They weren’t quiet like before. They didn’t have any one one voice, but they felt loud. Like hunger, and thirst, and tears, and rage, and loss, and shame.

Rumi was so scared of what would happen if those spread. She was afraid of what they would become. 

But Celine knew everything. So she already had a plan.

She took Rumi down to the place where the lights glittered the brightest and then, so gently, began wrapping the strings around her arm, right below where the marks were spreading. The lights hummed a strange warm that felt intoxicating and alien, and made her dizzy to the touch as she remembered and remembered and remembered.

Rumi doesn’t remember how long she was remembering. She knows Celine had to pull her out a few times. She knows that Celine taught her how to put up walls in her spirit and mind to keep other things out, until she was ready. But sometimes, she remembers remembering and there was so much.

Rumi’s arm always felt a little stiff, like she was in a cast made of clay. Celine said that it would keep the markings at bay, so long as they stayed tight. They would loosen over time, naturally, as her own spirit pushed against them, and exerted its force. Rumi could see how much energy it took Celine to do it every time. Every time she got too tired, or upset, or hurt. She could see how much Celine worried about her, and cared.

She didn’t want Celine to worry. She was nice, and kind. She wanted to be a good girl, like Celine said she was.

So she learned as quickly as she could. She learned how to control the honmoon, even when it felt distant to her at times, strange and alien. She learned how to move, and read, and fight, and teach and do anything that she was asked to do.

Celine still worried, but less now.

Celine hated anything with patterns. She knew because something with patterns hurt her mom. Rumi is afraid of becoming something Celine hates. 

Celine says that she could never hate her. That she was a good girl, just unlucky. That they’ll find a solution, together. That she loves her, and will protect her no matter what. Rumi believes her, because Celine knows everything. Celine is so worried about her and works so hard to make sure she has a good life.

So Rumi decided to help…and the honmoon agreed.

She wouldn’t be a burden.

She wouldn’t be a monster.

She would be a hunter.

And she would make her mother proud.

Rumi sat at attention looking at the whiteboard. She no longer felt stiff, not really. She was used to the strings by now. They felt like underwear, or a second skin in a way. They were still tight, but she enjoyed the resistance training aspect of it. Training was a lot of fun. Overcoming challenges was a thrill she loved to chase.

To overcome challenges, you needed knowledge. Knowledge was the bedrock of any plan, it was the cornerstone of preparation. That’s what Celine said. 

Know your enemy, to know yourself.

Rumi thought she knew herself well. She was a good girl, who was unlucky, who was going to work hard to turn her luck around. She was cursed because of her father, and now she was going to avenge her mother and undo the curse, and then everything would be fine.

She knew who Rumi was as a human.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t curious who Rumi was as a demon.

So as she watched Celine, who knew so much and taught her so much, describe the various foes they would face, she couldn’t help but be enraptured by them.

“Though we give them a monolithic name, Gwi-ma’s army is not homogenous. As I mentioned before, he has conquered, coerced, and convinced many different spiritual tribes and houses to come under his banner and collect the souls of the living. As demon hunters, you will need to be able to identify if a spirit is affiliated with Gwi-ma, its type, and how best to eliminate it. Your life and the lives of your fellow hunters may depend on it.”

Rumi followed along with her pencil, taking notes as seriously as she could as Celine began drawing the faces of various creatures.

“They are separated into three categories: Dokkaebi, Gwisin, and Shinhwa.”

On the board Celine had drawn…in astonishing detail a picture of a grotesque boxy mask with teeth like tusks that spurred out in every direction, a wailing face of a woman with long hair, and a dragon…horse of some kind surrounded in lightning.

Mira blinked a few times and shouted, “You can draw?! You do art? Wait do you have HOBBIES? Celine you can’t just drop that on us!”

Celine’s chalk opens up her mouth and then closes it, tilting her head, “Mira…that’s not…”

Zoey followed up with, “I think your drawings are very good Miss Celine! Are you going to teach us how to draw that good? OOO Can you draw me next! But like SUPER BUFF and with a LAZER SWORD!” She shook her hands excitedly.

Mira smirked at Celine and thumbed over to Zoey, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Celine groaned and murmured to herself. She took a deep breath in and then out, “Yes Mira, I have hobbies. Most adults do. No Zoey, I will not draw you as a super buff Jedi. Yes, I know American movies. No, I will not tell you if that is my hobby. Any other questions?”

Mira snickered as Zoey pouted. Rumi, seeing her chance, raised her hand.

“How do demons reproduce?” She asks softly, but steadily.

Zoey and Mira’s heads snap to her. 

Mira gives her a look of confusion and disgust.

Zoey looks like she won the lottery.

Rumi isn’t sure why but she feels her face get warm with the attention. She ignores it and keeps her eyes forward and chin up like Celine taught her too.

Celine looked at Rumi with her lips pressed into a thin line, “It…depends on the type.”

“Could one have a child with a human?” Rumi follows up. She wouldn’t have another chance like this. 

Celine was kind. Celine was polite. Celine was guarded and careful. She had never said anything about her mother. She said her marks came from her father.

These marks belonged to Gwi-ma

She had been marked by Gwi-ma.

She didn’t feel compelled to eat souls or anything like that. But she could feel them. She could taste them in a sense. She didn’t tell Celine because she didn’t want Celine to worry. Celine took good care of her. She was a good girl, and a kind girl, just like Celine raised her to be.

Celine said Rumi was human, because she knew Celine was very nice. But Rumi knew that she was more than that. She could feel it. But Celine was kind, patient, and careful. She’d never tell Rumi about that part of her.

Unless, of course, they were in a setting where she had to. Where it would be stranger not to talk about it. Rumi knew she was being cruel, being disobedient. She would accept any punishment for it, like she always did when she reached out too quickly. 

But sometimes being careful took too long.

And Rumi wanted answers now.

“...Hypothetically, there are some variants that can take human form, and others that could potentially use humans to reproduce. They are in the minority, by a massive amount, but such a thing would be possible.” Celine recited as her voice gained more steel to it. A warning.

I’m sorry. But I need to know.

“If someone is the child of a human and a demon, which are they really?”

Celine’s eyes looked at her and then looked past her. Rumi knew that look, from the nights when Celine might wake up screaming, or when she would talk about her mom. 

Celine was kind, and patient, and strict, and cold, and loving, and so so so sad. All of the time.

Rumi didn’t want to make her sad.

But she had to know. 

Because Celine knew everything. 

Even if she didn’t want to tell Rumi.

“...They would be human at birth…and could remain a human should they old onto their humanity but…if their patterns manage to grow out of control…they may…become a demon.” She did her best to speak steadily even as Rumi could see her heart be torn apart at the idea. 

For Rumi felt like taking a breathe of air that she had held for too long, and then being crushed by a weight.

Now she knew why Celine was so afraid.

Now she knew why Celine sometimes jumped when she approached.

Why was she so loving and so careful.

Why she had to cover herself in strings when Mira and Zoey did not, even though they were all hunters.

Why she had summoned a weapon when she was afraid.

Rumi was becoming a monster. A demon.

“That said, so long as the patterns do not completely cover such an individual, they have not lost their humanity. Thus they are closer to a cursed human, than a demon of any sort. That is why discernment is key. You are not mindless killers. You are demon hunters. Am I clear?”

“Yeah Yeah.” Mira mumbled giving Rumi a weird look.

“Yes! I mean Yes Miss Celine!” Zoey exclaimed, practically vibrating off the ground.

“...Yes Celine.” Rumi recited, taking her notes. 

Now she knew what Celine had always known.

Celine wanted to help her. Wanted to save her, but Celine wanted to do it alone. It wasn’t her fault that Rumi was cursed. She worried about her so much.

Rumi wanted to help.

That’s all she had ever wanted.

And maybe if she fixed this, Celine wouldn’t have to worry. She wouldn’t have to fuss.

Maybe then Celine could hug her as tight as she wanted and they could laugh together as loud as they wanted.

Maybe then Celine wouldn’t look so hurt when she asked these questions, or so afraid when Rumi got hurt.

Maybe then she could be her daughter, instead of the daughter of a woman she never met.

Maybe Celine wouldn’t look so sad when she thought Rumi couldn’t see.

But until then, she would be helpful.

Because she loved Celine.

And Celine loved her.

Even if she was a monster.

Chapter Text

Zoey was vibrating so hard she felt like she might fly. 

Rumi was weird like she was. Rumi asked weird questions like she did. Rumi, the most responsible one, had just asked if THE DEMONS HAD SEX.

I knew it was a good idea to show her twilight! AHHH! My young padawan! I have so much to teach you!

She held it in though. She couldn’t say everything she wanted, not in front of Celine. Rumi could get away with it because she was her not-daughter but Zoey wasn’t sure she’d get the same leniency. No she was sure that the only reason Celine was this patient was BECAUSE Rumi never asked these sort of things before. She had been caught off guard. Unsuspecting.

Interesting…

Zoey flipped the pencil in her hand as she thought about the implications of that before writing down notes.

• Rumi is curious about demon reproduction and hybrids

• Rumi isn’t really curious about most things, unless they are new and bizarre

• Celine didn’t want to talk about Demons? 

• Demon girlfriend maybe? 

• Demon boyfriend? Maybe that's why she’s gay now?

None of these felt right, and Zoey tended to trust her instincts, but she was on to something-

“Back to the lesson at hand.” Celine called out with a heavy voice, snapping Zoey out of her thoughts. Right. Class. Focus. Focus wasn’t the easiest thing for Zoey but she could manage.

Well that wasn’t strictly accurate. She could focus pretty well when there was only one thing to focus one. Unfortunately, that was rarely the case. 

Right now Celine was talking. She was also breathing. So was Mira and Rumi and their hearts were beating, none of which at the same tempo. Zoey could hear whispers of intent and emotion rippling off them like faint echoes far away, and hear a constant thrum of music from their teacher. 

Rumi sounded like a single held note, quiet but controlled to a degree which was almost frightening, if it weren’t so impressive.

Mira sounded like rock, like freedom turned outward, like joy, and rage, and everything that was inconvenient and made life worth living on the edge of shattered glass painted with passion.

Celine…Celine sounded like iron, like steel tempered on itself a thousand times, like love unending and infinite. She sounded like being carried on the wind and being safe in a storm or rain or fire, or death. She was security, and devotion, she was protection and loyalty, a blade that would cut the world into what was hers and what threatened hers. Unlike the other two, she could hear Celine so clearly that she couldn’t help but put a name to the sound.

Duty Above All.

Zoey didn’t know why she chose that name, but rang true. She wondered if Rumi’s song had a name. She wondered if Mira’s did.

What did her own song sound like? She could never hear it because she was too busy trying to-

“-Focus. Zoey, did you hear me?” Celine called out to her.

Zoey blinked and then looked down at her paper covered in notes that she didn’t write. Or at least she didn’t fully remember writing. But she remembers what was said.

“Demons are separated into three categories, Dokkebi, Gwisin or Gwishin and Shinhwa, which are effectively earthly spirits, underworld spirits, and heavenly spirits but more accurately are represented as Goblins, Ghosts and Monsters.” She recited aimlessly as the information flowed into her brain and out through her mouth.

“Er goblins are like little tricky guys that used to be objects and then they were filled with bad vibes, and then they turned into little imps and stuff. They can change into people and thats spooky but they can also teleport which is double spooky, and come in all shapes and sizes, like orcs, and trolls, and stuff, like tolkien style. They are like the main baddies.”

“Then there are ghosts, which are people who died with bad vibes that were so rancid that they are reborn with the power of cringe into spooky ghosts that all have spooky ghosts powers. They can’t usually teleport, but they can do other spooky stuff and are usually bound to specific environments which make them stronger or more dangerous based on how icky their vibes are.”

“And then there are monsters, which are really just like animals who have maximized their bad vibes and turned into level 100 haters, who use their ascended hater powers to blow stuff up sometimes. They are less directly evil because they are animals, and animals are cute, and also they are usually just minding their own business, but sometimes other peoples bad vibes vibe with their bad vibes, so they work together, or like they have powerful combos and junk.”

Zoey scratched her cheek, “I…think that was most of it. Which actually makes me wonder what happens if a person who is alive has bad enough vibes? What happens to them?” Zoey gasped

“WAIT IS THAT WHAT VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES ARE?” Her eyes twinkle as she looks out at her classmates.

Mira has a single eyebrow raised.

Rumi is looking at her with an unreadable expression and…a smile? 

Celine…wait oh no-

“Oh…I’m uh…sorry that was probably wrong-”

“No uh…No that was…correct.” Celine cleared her throat, “The…diction used was a bit…pecuilar but the content was correct. We will correct what needs to be corrected and nothing more. If that is how you synthesize the information…just make sure you are able to transliterate such things in the future into more standardized vernacular.”

Zoey tilted her head and looked at Mira who snickered, “She means you did good but you gotta say it in a way other people get it. Or more fancy. One of the two.”

Celine shoots Mira a look and she raises her hands in surrender, “Sorry teach, I’m just trying to make sure that I transliterate the information into more standardized vernacular for you~. No need to thank me.”

Zoey giggled before she could catch herself, and when she did she felt a thrum pulse out from Rumi and Mira who were both giving her that weird look again. She didn’t know what it meant, but it was warm, and kind.

Okay so they like it when I laugh? But Celine wants me to be serious…hm…

“On that note, no, werewolves and vampires are not…created by bad vibes. A human whose living soul is corrupted may be mutated into any number of things, but such an action is even more rare than a spirit attempting to reproduce using a human. In fact, they could be considered similar acts in some ways- I’m getting ahead of myself.” Celine waves away the thought as she taps the board.

“The point is that each of these types of entities have dozens of subtypes, but knowing what they are and what they are capable of is paramount to how we combat them. Dokkeabi are more physical than Gwisin, with exception of greater spirits, and shinhwa can be dissuaded from battle in some cases minimizing their forces. That said, Zoey had brought up a very important shared trait amongst these creatures: they are fundamentally, spiritual beings.”

“Now, what does that mean for HOW we have to fight them?” Celine asks.

Zoey immediate raised her hand, “OH I KNOW THIS ONE! VIBES! All of the monsters are powered on bad vibes, so we use the power of good vibes to defeat them! Like friendship and love and stuff, but instead of doing it with like rainbows, we do it with music and dancing! Because we are real and solid and they are made of spirit stuff, so if you want to beat spirit stuff you have to use spirit stuff, hence the vibes field, which is the honmoon!” 

Zoey nods sagely as she hears Rumi’s note stutter. She turns to look at the girl whose hand was slowly going down, looking bashful. Zoey pouts, “Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean to talk over you. Did you want to say something Rumi?”

Rumi blushed, a thing which Zoey would not be forgetting any time soon, before murmuring “The world exists as the physical and the spiritual, and we mudang are the bridge between. As physical beings that can interact with the spiritual, to combat spiritual beings, we require spiritual weapons, abilities, or arrays in order to leave any lasting effect. Likewise, a properly trained hunter should only be harmed by spiritual beings, as their soul will naturally be able to protect their body from the woes of the physical world...”

Mira looked between the two of them with a growing sense of bewilderment as Celine smiled.

“Correct on both counts. To interact with the spiritual world, we manshin require spiritual power and tools. Thus, our souls become not only our most precious gift, but our shields and swords. But we are human, and unlike these spirits, do not innately possess a way to manifest that power. So how do we go about doing our work?” 

Zoey and Rumi both raise their hands before looking at eachother, and then putting their hands down…and then looking at the other expectantly as they try to figure out who gets to raise their hand.

Celine looks past them both and gestures to the girl at the center, “Mira? What do you think?”

Mira bawks and turns back and forth between the other two girls before shrinking a bit at the attention, “Er…if…we don’t have…a way to use the power…maybe…someone else..does? And we just…borrow that?”

She cringed as her song of rebellion crashed into itself, folding and fumbling as the shards of glass were turned inward for a moment. Zoey’s ears flinched at the sound.

Celine snaps and the sound stops, “Precisely Mira. That is the nature of mudang. We are mediums. Our talents are not only our own, but that which we can connect to in channel. Each mudang has a spirit or set of spirits that they are expected to grow alongside and commune with and it is through that communion that we may manifest the power of our souls into reality.”

Zoey watched Mira’s face unclench as a blow that she looked for never came and her song redoubles, now sharper but more brilliant. It was loud, brash, and very distracting.

But oddly comforting in that way. Like white noise.

Zoey found herself humming gently to a sound she could not hear that bounced between a single note and a roaring rampage, finding the melody that sat between them. She didn’t need to be something unique. She just needed to find her place.

Celine looked at the three of them with measured pride as she turned the board over, “Other mudang concern themselves with gods of the mountains, harvest, or rain. Some concern themselves with the spirits of prosperity, kindness, or death. While we may entreat these spirits at times to borrow their gifts, and seek their aid, that is not our focus. We are honmoon hunters.”

Zoey could feel something stir in all of them when she said that. Honmoon hunters. 

A note sung brighter

Shards of Glass Cutting against cruelty

A color that can’t be seen, only heard.

“And I think its about time you learned what that means. Stand up girls. It’s time for practicals.” Celine commanded, her own symphony of steel resonating with their songs.

“Yes Celine!” They called back in harmony, as all three jumped to attention.

Zoey smiled wide as can be.

It was time to mahou her shoujo

Chapter Text

Celine walked the trio out to a secondary training field, one that none of the girls had ever practiced on. The field was about sixty meters in length and forty in width, with a 10 meter tall wooden totem pole in each corner. Each totem pole depicted imagery of various sacred beasts, like the Haetae, the three legged crow, and Azure dragon. Between the totem poles, lines of twine held dozens upon dozens of talismans, each scribed with wards and runes of ancient power.

While the ground surrounding the field was covered in verdant grass and crisp mountain air, the space within it was distinctly other. There wasn’t any clear visual indication, but instinctually, the girls could feel that there was a boundary between the world they existed in and the one on the other side of those talismans.

Celine approached the barrier with a raised hand and gently tapped it as the honmoon resonated across an invisible wall, rippling out in waves.

“This is the official hunter training area. The honmoon is made particularly stable here, in such a way that even the strongest of us would not be able to bypass this barrier with our spiritual prowess. Instead, any excess energy will be siphoned back into the honmoon. Moreover, as soon as you leave the barrier, you will be healed of any energy sustained within. These factors make it an ideal area for you all to train your gifts from now on.”

Celine turns back to the three girls with a wry smile, “We will now be covering the fundamentals of what it means to wield the honmoon, but I understand that you girls have been feeling a bit restless. So I am giving you an opportunity to work some of that energy out, whilst giving you the opportunity to learn from one another.”

She points to Rumi and then Zoey before thumbing into the field, “You two are going to have an exhibition match, where I expect you both to use the full extent of your skills as they currently are.”

Rumi’s eyes widen a fraction. “Really?”

Zoey gasps and begins bouncing on her feet, “REALLY?!

Mira gives them a side eye, as Celine continues, “Yes really. I’ll intervene if necessary, but I doubt that will be the case.”

Rumi gives Celine a slight nod and steadily marches in, as Zoey bounds her way rushing from the other side. As they pass through the barrier, the honmoon lights up around their silhouettes like the pair walked through water and their bodies are covered in a thin shimmering film that quickly subsided. Each girl walked to opposite ends of the field, being dozens of meters away from one another.

Celine moved to Mira’s side and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Pay close attention. These two will serve as examples for what I’m about to describe.”

“Wait, why can’t I join them?” Mira grumbled, “We’ve been training together for weeks. I’ve beat Zoey plenty of times and I can even take a few rounds off of Rumi now.”

Celine shook her head, “You are supremely talented Mira. Really you are. You’ve been picking up things very quickly, and are incredibly disciplined at your craft. But trust me when I say you’ll want to watch what happens next before you jump into the ring. If you feel confident about your chances after you see the match, I’m happy to let you have a turn.”

Mira huffs at that but swallows her refusal. She could feel something different about the way the girls were moving, and Celine wasn’t the type to say things unnecessarily. 

“As shamans, our powers come not from ourselves, but the spirits we commune with, and how we commune with said spirits. As mudang, we do this through our guts, ritualistic performances by which we may become the bridge between the physical world and spiritual world, and enact the will of the spirits we connect with onto the physical world we inhabit.” Celine explains as she gestures to the honmoon, her voice somehow carrying the entire distance without getting louder. 

“Girls, we will be doing Lesson Number One. We will start on my mark.” Celine said with a serious tone as Rumi got into a wide battle stance, one hand above and hind her head and the other held lower. Zoey Mirrored her, but instead bounced from foot to foot in a smoother, more jubilant movement.

And then something bizarre happened. The honmoon almost ignited, lighting up like a christmas tree as Celine opened her mouth.

“One, alone is not enough.”

“You need both together-”

As she sang, the honmoon danced around her, like it was alive. Mira was overcome by a strange sensation of understanding, of intent that was deeper than the words said. 

Opposites. Balance. Duality. The Physical and Spiritual.

Looking out at her partners, she could see the honmoon begin to spool around her arms and legs like it had weeks ago when she had picked her up, and hum around Zoey in a way she had never seen before.

“Winter, Summer, Moon and Sun.”

Celine snapped her fingers as another pulse of intense rippled through the honmoon towards the two girls. For one second, they were still-

“[ Lesson Number One. ]”

In the next second Rumi had crossed the field like a flicker with an axe kick that cracked through the earth as Zoey dodged it by hairs breadth, having flipped over Rumi’s shoulders like a master acrobat and landed on one hand before flipping backwards two more meters. Mira’s jaw nearly hit the ground, as her eyes became wise as saucers-

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” Mira cried out as she turned to Celine.

“The honmoon’s power can be divided into two aspects.” Celine continued, ignoring the question, “The internal and external, though even that is an oversimplification of the complexities of this array. In truth, it is easier to categorize them as Trance Techniques and Manifestation Techniques.”

As Celine explained, the girls continued their performance on their own. Rumi’s movements were explosive and direct, rushing down Zoey with powerful strikes that cracked through the air at blistering speeds. She moved around the girl like a wraith, graceful and dangerous, yet ever present, raining down attack after attack as her song resonated through the honmoon.

“Like a rock, I must be hard-”

“Like an oak, I must stand firm-”

Even so, Zoey was none the lesser. Even as she wasn’t moving at the same speeds, her every movement was precise and perfect, twisting and bending out of the way like she was a leaf being carried on a breeze. Her stance was unhurried and untouchable as she danced between blows with ease.

“Like a cloud, I am soft-”

“Like bamboo, I bend in the wind-”

Celine gestures to Zoey, who twisted to the right, just barely avoiding a right hook from rumi, only to put her hand onto Rumi’s chest and one leg behind her ankle and push, causing the older girl to tumble backwards into a somersault before rushing forward again.

“Zoey is currently bringing her soul in synch with the honmoon using her song, causing her to enter a trancelike state. In this state, she is able to take in the memories and skills of all of the previous hunters who have contributed to the honmoon. This is a basic trance technique, and one that all mudang share: the ability to open their minds and souls to the spiritual realm.”

Celine then gestures to Rumi who took a step onto the ground in front of Zoey as the ground surged upward in a ripple as the honmoon itself launched her off her footing before Rumi took advantage to go for a kick to the stomach. Zoey only barely managed to avoid being launched doing a handstand on Rumi’s out stretched leg, which got a raised eyebrow from the girl before she quickly pulled her leg down, Zoey pushed off and they were back at it.

“Rumi however, is commanding the honmoon with her song, expressing and manifesting her intent into the world. By wrapping herself in the barrier, her strikes grow in power, her body becomes more durable as the spirits of the world answer her call, and she is given the strength of a thousand warriors, carried on from generation to generation. This can also be used to control the honmoon directly, creating lesser constructs and to express one’s will.”

“Cut Quick, Like My Blade-”

“Creeping Slow, you’re at peace because you know-”

Rumi holds two fingers out as the honmoon swirls around them to form an edge as she swipes her in an upward Diagonal cut. Zoey simply bends to the side and ducks the cut, not wasting a single bit of extra movement, all while staying in her area of control.

“Unfraid!” Rumi’s eyes were hard with determination and concentration

“ It’s okay to be afraid…” Zoey’s seemed glazed over and serene.

Even as they were both expressing power, even though they were fighting, the way they moved around eachother…it was like.

“(A dance…)” She finds herself whispering.

“That’s right. Leading and following. Control and Acceptance. Yin and Yang. Both of these skills are needed to become a fully fledged manshin.”

Mira squinted, “But…those are…opposites right? How do you do them both?”

Celine looks down at Mira with a soft smile, “You need something that unites them. That brings these two opposing things into balance. Something that encapsulates and pervades through both aspects, such that they both remain under your influence and can flow through you with ease.”

Celine steps forward towards the barrier, “There are many names for this concept. A totem. A soul song. An Icon. But fundamentally, it is the representation of the self, a crystalized aspect of your soul made manifest. It is something that resonates so clearly within you that going against it feels like being out of alignment with yourself.” 

As she speaks, Celine steps through the barrier and the honmoon comes to life around her in a way that cannot be carried to by the other girls. The strings of soul stuff dance around her like they are carried on an invisible wind, wrapping around her like armor and passing through her like waves, spirally orchestral choruses turned into infinitely fractalling armor, all guided by a baton that has two names.

Duty Above All

Your Faults And Fears Must Not Be Seen

“This is our harmony. The purest manifestation of our gift, a song that is our soul that is us that can be expressed outward, guiding the honmoon and keeping oneself steady amongst the tide of souls. With it, a manshin never need fear being overwhelmed by a trance, or fear losing command of your power. So long as you act in accordance with your song, the honmoon will respond.”

She takes another step onto the honmoon as a ripple of intent goes out and Rumi and Zoey disperse from one another, rumi taking one massive leap back while Zoey does a dozen lesser flips.

Celine steps in between them and reaches a hand out into the air. She slowly moves into a low stance as the strings of the honmoon dance around her at quickening pace.

“One Alone Is Not Enough”

“You Need Both Together”

“Winter, Summer, Moon and Sun-”

As her song echoes through the honmoon the strings coalesce around something deeper than sound, as the will of one who has the experience of hundreds shapes the souls of the world into a tool. She twists it in her hand as the strings tangle and twist around one another, weaving it into existence as slams the butt of an iridescent staff into the ground, causing waves of rainbow light to pulse out from its contact point.

“Lesson Number One!”

Looking at the staff, Mira could feel the power behind it. It was simple, a long cylinder, but it was covered in strange patterns that rippled all the way through, and images of constellations and strange beasts. It was bright in a way that she couldn’t fully fathom but she couldn’t look away from it.

Without a word she picked up the staff and nodded her head for Mira to enter. Mira being awestruck, was stuck in place for a moment before she took a step forward and then began to run.

Crossing the boundary, she felt the warm tingle of something cover her body and settle under her skin as she joined the field with the other two girls. Rumi gave her a look of concentrated comradery, a short nod, while Zoey gave her a…very strange bow, with her fist in her palm.

“Altogether now.” Celine said dropping into her own battle stance as the girls looked at one another.

And then the song began, verses overlapping as the girls advanced onto Celine at once.

“Like a rock, I must be hard-”

“Like a cloud, I am soft-”

Celine swung her staff out in a wide arc, forcing Mira to dodge  low and Zoey to Dodge high with Rumi blocking it in a hard stance, and still being pushed back two feet.

“Like an oak, I must stand firm-”

“Like bamboo, I bend in the wind-”

Mira attempts to kick the legs out from under Celine as Zoey comes down from the air with an axe kick while Rumi holds the staff in place. Celine, without mixing a beat, pulls forward, unsteadying rumi as she spins back on one leg, causing Mira and Zoey to miss both of their kicks.

“ You can fly!”

Celine’s voice cuts in between them pushing all three girls back several meters as the honmoon radiates out from her like a barrier. Mira and Zoey end up on one side of Celine with Rumi on the other, and yet somehow it feels like they were all right next to each other, their spirits calling to one another.

“Cut Quick, Like My Blade-”

  “Unfraid!” 

“Creeping Slow, you’re at peace because you know-”

“ It’s okay to be afraid!”

Compelled by something they all felt but had no words for all of the girls rushed Celine at the same beat yet again, feeling the surging courage of the song calling to them. Even attacking from three entirely different angles with different styles was not enough to overwhelm the woman though, singing in the same steady voice that orchestrated this entire dance.

“You have begun-” She called out as their souls all resonated together.

“Lesson Number-” Mira roared 

“Lesson Number-” Rumi chanted

“Lesson Number-” Zoey giggled

“ Lesson Number One. ” The four sang in a chorus of combat that reverberated out in all directions in a wave of light that reached farther than it ever had before, cascading into the horizon. The world had heard them and christened their growth.

Each of the girls fell back in exhaustion, panting and huffing. Celine stood above them, not a hair out of place as she unmade her staff and put her hands behind her back.

“Now. Who wants to go again?”

They all raised their hands.

Chapter Text

After that things seem to speed up and slow down in equal measure. Celine, of course, had new, even higher and more insane expectations for all of them after beating them within an inch of their lives for the seventh day in a row.

Okay maybe Mira was exaggerating a little bit, but it certainly felt like it.

“Zoey, your control is lacking. You should be able to control how fast you enter and leave trance, what information you draw from it, and should be able to call upon the honmoon’s physical aspects just as easily. You are a hunter and it is yours to call upon. Command it. You are far stronger than you allow yourself to be.”

“Rumi, you are too rigid. The honmoon has a wealth of information and tools to offer you if you allow it to do so. Remaining in control is paramount, but you must not mistake obstinance for control. Listen. Learn. Adapt. You have the deepest connection to the honmoon out of all of the students here, and I expect you to be an example to them of what that means.”

“Mira, you are the least experienced of the three when it comes to the honmoon, and have the most to catch up on. I suggest you focus on finding your harmony, and from there, the other pieces will fall into place. This isn’t to say that you do not possess the skill that the others have. Just the opposite, you have an opportunity that they do not. Seize it.”

She made sure to speak to them each as a group so they understood that this was not a solo assignment either.

“You are hunters. You live together and I expect you to work together. If one of you is showing weakness, the others should be helping them erase said weakness. You all empower one another not only with your song, but with your actions. That starts now. Do not disappoint one another.”

No pressure.

Of course, training these new ancient powers that they wielded wasn’t meant to interrupt their other training. Of course not. In fact, if anything, training only got more intense now that Celine had taken the bitch mittens off, and decided that they were getting trained like actual hunters.

That meant extra weights on everything, faster run times, more intense workouts, more precise choreographies, longer songs-

“Actually I take it back. She is absolutely trying to kill us.” Mira complains huffing in her bed, entire body drenched with sweat. 

“I’m dead. She succeeded.” Zoey moaned from the floor.

“Really..its just…a way…to improve ourselves.” Rumi huffed from the door frame.

Zoey and Mira gave her the same look before looking at each other. Rumi was just built different. She was also crazy.

Rumi pouted, “You are giving me the look again.”

“You are saying crazy shit again. Cause and effect babe. Can’t control it. It’s science and shit.” Mira cackled breathlessly. She enjoyed the high she got from exercise. The soreness, not so much.

“Yeah…I know you can use the honmoon for like…strength and stuff but…aren’t you getting the worst of it?” Zoey asked with a mix of frustration and concern.

Rumi waved a hand, “No no. I’m fine. I’ve got it. Easy pea-”

Mira threw a pillow at her.

“OOf- AGh-” Rumi immediately startled and fell onto her ass, causing Zoey and Mira to bust out laughing. Much to her chagrin.

“What was that for?!” Rumi demanded.

“I dunno. I just didn’t like how smug you sounded. Decided to do something about it. I think my actions are justified.” Mira replied with a toothy smile.

“I wasn’t smug, I was being reasonable. If we can’t even do this much, how are we expected to make the honmoon golden?”

“Oh lighten up princess.” Mira sighed out, closing her eyes like her heartbeat wasn’t raging against her ribs.

“How about you tighten up, Chaebol.” Rumi growled with a playful edge, folding her arms. Mira didn’t have to look to hear the smile on her voice. She could feel the same smile tugging at her lips. 

She was about to reply when Zoey groaned from the ground. “Just kiss already, my god.” 

Mira’s eyes snapped open as Rumi blinked in confusion.

“What?” Rumi and Mira asked at the same time.

“What?” Zoey said innocently, finding the wall particularly intriguing this time of year.

The trio sit in silence for a beat before Rumi scoffs, “I’m going to go shower. I’ll see you both at dinner okay?” 

Before either of them gather the energy to respond, she whips herself around and walks down the hall.

Mira waits until she can hear her door close to hiss at Zoey, leaning over the side of the bed to glare at her, “What was that?!”

Zoey rolls her eyes, “Oh, don’t pretend like you haven’t thought of it.”

Mira felt her entire face burn up, “W-Wha- NO! No! Why would -I Ew? Her? HA no, never? With that princess? Fuck off.” She growls before lying back on her own bed forcefully.

“(...More for me then…)” Zoey murmured

“What?” Mira grumbled

“I was saying that I want to hear more about how your honmoon training is going.” Zoey said with a saccharine sweet voice that Mira had come to associate as her peace offering voice.

“...It’s going…fine? I guess?” Mira sighed, taking the bait, “I mean I can’t make it move like Rumi and I can’t trance for more than a few second without getting a headache, so…I dunno Zo. What do you want me to say? I’m falling behind you both like I always have been.” 

Mira shrugs, pushing the thought away. “It’s not like complaining will make me any better. I just have to…tighten up I guess.” She exhaled out of her nose and grumbled, “God, I hate when she’s right.”

“You mean most of the time?” Zoey said with a raised eyebrow

“You see my problem then.” Mira replied wholeheartedly.

That got a giggle out of Zoey, which was a win in Mira’s book.

“...You know, I know it sounds easy for us, but really we are both struggling just as much as you.” Zoey murmured softly

“Bullshit. You were pulling out magic tricks day one, and I’m pretty sure Rumi has been magic since she was born.”

“Okay, I can’t speak for Rumi, because she’s weird, and we both know that. Like, crazy talented, really helpful, super nice, but like…built different, you know?” Mira nodded along. Even if she’d talk shit to her face, Mira couldn’t look down on Rumi in any aspect. Not seriously.

“But like…okay me for example? Trancing seems super easy for me, but that’s kinda just because I’m a doormat? Like…I dunno, I’m used to saying what people like, and doing what other people need to be happy. Making sure everyone stays together, and everything works. So when I’m reaching out to the spirit world, its just like…more of that. It’s really just me letting more people decide what happens and going along with it.” Zoey explains hollowly, as she props herself up on her elbows

“But like…at the same time it makes trying to use the honmoon, like really use it, feel really hard. Because I have to decide how to use it, and what’s right and what's wrong and how to push and where it should go, and it feels like a lot, and I never feel strong enough. Especially when I’m constantly having these voices in my head tell me a dozen different things that are all the same but subtly unique enough that they clash and rush over each other. It’s like herding cats in the rain!" She complains throwing her hand in the air before falling back onto the floor.

“Being…exposed to this early helped in some ways, but I think it hurt in others. I think Rumi might be in a similar position. She doesn’t really talk about it, but I think she’s too used to keeping the voices out. So much so that if anything tries to say anything to her, she just ignores them and pushes them away before they get a chance.” 

Zoey pulls herself up and peers over the side of Mira’s bed conspiratorily, “It also makes her super stubborn.”

Mira snickered, “I know right!”

The two shared another laugh as Zoey folded her arms over the side of the bed, laying her head on her forearm, “See? You aren’t behind anyone. We are all screwups together. As a team. Even Rumi.”

Mira rolled the idea in her mind. The idea that Rumi was a screwup…didn’t fully sit right with her, but Zoey wasn’t necessarily wrong either, “...Thanks Zo. You’re the best.”

She nodded, “Yeah, I am. That’s what big sisters are for after all.” She replied with a too wide smile.

Mira groaned, thought it lacked bite or any true frustration, “Will you ever free me from my horrible horrible contract that I made multiple years ago?”

“Never!!!” Zoey cackled bouncing up to her feet and scampering away. She then poked her head around the corner, “...But seriously. Be nice to yourself. If I see you bullying my teammate again, I might have to kick your butt.” She points to her two eyes and then to Mira before winking and slipping behind the corner.

Mira snorts and sighs, looking back up at the ceiling.

Zoey and Rumi had been…incredibly supportive of her this entire time. 

Rumi didn’t even need to try and be the leader, she just was. She was the shining example of hardwork and dedication that the other two couldn’t help but follow behind. She was a beacon of what was possible, and always reached her hand back to the both of them, making sure that they could do their best. Be their best. 

Zoey was…everything good in the world. She was creative, brilliant, playful, and intense. She was the light that shined between them, the heart that kept them beating. She was also an absolute menace, but in a way that made them all more excited about life. If Rumi was the work, Zoey was the play, and yet they both made the other better for it. 

Zoey kept Rumi from burning out and breaking down.

Rumi kept Zoey from spinning out and feeling lost.

Mira…Mira looked up to them both so much. They had both done so much for her and made her feel at home in a way she never had before. They were special to her in a way that was so hard to describe.

But it was on the tip of her tongue. 

She closed her eyes

“I…would do anything to be there for them….”

“ I would do anything for my family. ”

The instant she spoke it into truth, she felt something click into place, as a chord rang out somewhere deep within herself. The hymn reverberated out from her spot on the bed through the entire house as a familiar chorus played in the back of her mind.

A song of glass made castles from glass and rubble, of beds cut from bone. Sacrifice, love, devotion, connection, something deeper than herself and so much more real at the same time.

Mira’s eye slowly fluttered open as she felt more like herself than she had in her entire life as a wild smile settled onto her face.

“Holy shit.”

Chapter Text

After talking to Celine about how she felt, all that was required was a little fine tuning to figure out her harmony.

“ 100% Ride or Die …” Celine recited in an almost resigned tone. Mira was sitting at the opposite end of the desk in Celine’s study, as she tapped her finger to a beat that they could both hear but couldn’t describe any other way. Mira had been doing her best to appear stoic and uninterested even as she was vibrating in her seat to see what this all meant.

She sighed even as a smile twitched upon her lips, rubbing her eyes, before looking over at the pink haired girl, “Your song is one of extremes. Often, I would suggest girls be cautious with their harmonies. After all, learning the steps to your heartsong is a fragile and difficult thing for a lot of people. It certainly was for us. It can be…overwhelming, knowing who you are so deeply.”

“But I cannot give you that advice. Your song demands that you put your entire being behind what you do. If you love, you love with your whole heart. If you fight, it must be with the full extent of your intent. This doesn’t mean that you are lacking in moderation or control…but rather there can be no half measures. If you are going to do something, you are going to do it the way that matters to you, or not at all. That is what your song represents.”

Celine gave a half snort as she turned away, “Did you know that the first harmony tends to set the tone for the rest of them? This generation…” She doesn't finish her statement as she turns back to Mira and gently tilts her head outside.

“You should get to practicing with it now. It’ll be easier for you to learn when you work with your fellow hunters.” Celine looks down at some more documents over the desk before smirking, “And I know what it feels like to want to try out a new toy. You’ve got an hour before I hit the field, and I put you all through your paces.”

Mira knew a head start when she heard one and ran out of the room halfway through Celine’s sentence, “Thanks teach, gonna go now, see ya!”

Celine looked up slightly stunned before chuckling to herself, “...Ya know if me and poppy…hmpf.” She shakes her head, “These girls are going to be the death of me.”

Celine couldn’t help but smile as the honmoon pulsed with the sounds of righteous rebellion, stained glass, and joyful excess. They were starting to find their footing. One step at a time.

 Mira found her girls where she always found them.

Zoey was writing and Rumi was training.

Zoey always had new ideas they had found. It was like her mind was working on overdrive at all times, and while a lot of the ideas were silly and potentially nonsensical, she also seemed to have a real mind for tactics and strategy, as well as creative use of their abilities.

Rumi, on the other hand, was chasing ever greater perfection in everything that she did. She mastered choreographies faster, learned songs better, acted more noble. And when they thought she was the best, apparently, that was not enough for her because she KEPT WORKING HARDER.

If the results weren’t so impressive, it would have been nauseating. The greed of this woman was astounding. The worst part is when Mira asked what had her working so hard she had just smirked and responded, “Someone has to lay the groundwork for you two.”

Smug cunt.

Mira was almost giddy by the time she found the girls near their new training field. It’s time to wipe that smug look off of her face, once and for all.

Zoey was sitting down on a nearby rock, thereby designated as the restrock, laying on her back in her white tee-shirt and baggy sweatpants, surrounded in three separate notebooks. Mira tried to remember what each of them were for, but Zoey tended to go through them so quickly it was hard to keep track at any one time. 

She was holding a pencil in between her lip and her nose, balancing it while wiggling it back and forth, with her eyebrows knit in concentration as she looked up at a page, with one leg folded over the other. 

Rumi on the other hand, was going through forms like they were going to be pop quizzed on them. Which knowing Celine, was entirely possible. Still, she moved between stances, and moves with the grace of someone decades her senior, flowing from strike to strike as if she were dancing through air instead of practicing at least six martial arts at the same time. 

She was in a yellow crop top and shorts which Mira definitely didn’t feel anything about, and was covered head to toe in sweat as she continued moving around. It took her a while to realise why she hadn’t stopped, only to see a little cellphone set up near the rest rock, which Rumi was using to record her training.

Mira cleared her throat as she approached, causing Zoey to drop her pencil and beam over at her with glowing fondness. “MIMI!”

Rumi gave her a glance and then returned to work, “Hello, Mira.” 

Mira tried not to let Rumi’s nonchalance get to her. She failed, because her jaw was already feeling tight, but she did try, “So! Celine confirmed it, I have unlocked my harmony-”

“I know.” Rumi said plainly, going for a downward kick  before twisting into a forward jab.

Mira’s face fell, “What do you mean you know? I haven’t even said anything!”

Zoey giggled, “Mimi, your song isn’t exactly subtle.” Zoey turns back to her notebooks, “We can have a celebration thing tonight! OOOH should we watch a musical? I think we can find one that you’d like Mimi.”

Mira squints, “Why are you calling me Mimi?”

Zoey blinks and holds the notebook to her chest, before pouting at Mira, “You…You don’t like it?”

Mira’s face burns in reaction to the dreaded puppy dog eyes as she waves a hand, “I didn’t say that, so put those away.”

Mira doesn’t catch the smug look that Zoey shoots Rumi, only Rumi rolling her eyes in response and going back to her forms.

Something in her boils a bit before cooling into a cocky grin, “Well I guess I’m glad that you both accept me as the leader of our little group.”

That causes Rumi to stop in her place, “What?”

Zoey’s lips part as she looks between the two but stays silent on her rock.

“You heard me Ruthless” Mira gloats, “I figured out my harmony first, meaning I’m going to be the first one to master the honmoon, even before you two geniuses. Honestly, it was only a matter of time anyway…but I guess if you keep up, I’ll help you…you know…if you beg me too.”

Rumi gave her a blank look which Mira knew was her calculating. Her grin turned vicious, “Unless of course…you have something to say about it. Shouldn’t you be congratulating your new leader… Princess ?”

The punch comes faster than she should be able to react to as she watches Rumi’s control lip just for a second. Mira smiles wide as can be as steps to a song she felt in her bones slipped her just to the side of the jab as she rolled down beside and behind Rumi, stepping into the battlefield.

“Aw, are you having a tantrum? That’s not very mature of you Ruminator. Inner peace and all of that shit.”

“I’m merely giving you an opportunity to demonstrate your capabilities, leader .” Rumi somehow making monotone sound threatening as she followed her in. 

Zoey watched from behind, looking torn. Mira felt a little bad, knowing how Zoey got when they fought, but somehow, couldn’t bring herself to fully regret it. 

Huh. So that’s what she meant.

Rumi rolled her shoulders with practiced ease as she loosened up her joints, “First to fall?”

Mira shook her head. Something about that rang false. “First to surrender.”

Rumi’s eyebrows raised at that, while Zoey gasped from her rock scrambling off of it as Rumi responded, “...Okay…then whoever remains-”

“-gets the title.” Mira said with a smile. 

Zoey jumped in at the last second, “WAIT! I-I WANT IN!”

They both looked at her with slight confusion that she answered with frustration, “What? You think just because I’m younger I couldn’t be a great leader? Naruto would be ashamed of you both. For shame.”

Mira looked to Rumi for an explanation and she shrugged, “Okay, free for all. The last one standing is the leader.”

Mira looked between the two of them as her pulse began to thunder in her ears. Was this a good idea? Almost assuredly not.

Did she want an opportunity to test herself and maybe make Rumi eat dirt? Yeah. Yeah she did.

She saw the way Rumi’s brow faintly furrowed. She was focused now.

Mira saw the way Zoey stretched and flapped her arms, getting loose and ready for something violent.

Before she knew it, she’d gotten used to reading these girl’s tells. They had become second nature to her. 

100% Ride or Die.

The song in her heart resonates with this as she takes a step back and gets into a wide stance with one forearm by her face and the other outstretched and upturned.

Rumi gave a glance to Zoey as the honmoon pulsed around her. Zoey winked as the light struck Rumi who didn’t seem to react besides a shrug. Mira raised an eyebrow as the light reached her only to get a strange mental impression.

UpDown? What the fuck does Updown mean?

She squinted at the pair as they looked to Mira.

“Ready when you are.” Rumi said blandly.

Zoey bounced on her toes.

Mira smiled, Fuck it. Doesn’t matter anyway. “On your mark, get set…Go!”

In an instant they both rushed her. Mira had expected as such. 

What she had not expected was Zoey going first as her fist pulled back for a punch. Mira crossed her arms to block her face, only for the impact never to come.

What happened in the next few seconds was a blur. 

Two soft hands grabbed at her wrists and sailed over her, pulling her arms back with a powerful momentum. At the same moment, a flicker of purple appeared right below her, kicking her legs out from behind her.

“Over!” Zoey Giggled

“Under.” Rumi responded.

One second Mira felt herself in the air. The next she hit the ground hard. Hard enough to fully knock the wind out of her as her arms were pinned and suddenly she felt a weight press down on her waist as the honmoon roared to life around her.

When she was finally able to process what had happened and take stock of the situation, her blood ran cold and then very very hot.

Both Zoey and Rumi were hovering over her, with Zoey holding down her arms behind her head and the smuggest smirk known to man while Rumi straddled her waist with two fingers covered in honmoon pointed directly at her neck. Rumi raised a single eyebrow in challenge as Zoey wiggled her eyebrows.

“Surrender.” Rumi growled sternly, something that Mira’s heart was not prepared for.

“Yeah! Surrender!” Zoey giggled out, clearly enjoying herself in ways Mira could not currently fathom.

Mira’s head felt like it was full of cotton and fire and somehow, she was taken back to the first day she had arrived at this compound. Her eyes were once again looking up at the sky as she just finished getting slammed for being overconfident…again…

Despite how mortified she felt internally, the smile on her face was wild and proud, “Make me.”

Rumi looked to Zoey and they both nodded in agreement, “You leave us no choice.”

When Celine finally found the girls, she wasn’t surprised to hear the sound of laughter. She was surprised to see Mira held down, laughing like mad as she tried to squirm out of her teammates grip as they tickled her to death.

“HAHAHAHAHAHREUJFKCRUMIHAHAAA” Mira roared, clearly crying through her laughter.

Rumi, looking determined as ever, continued to press the assault, “Doesn’t sound like surrender to me. Say it!”

Zoey was giggling mischievously watching the scene from above, keeping Mira still while she was tormented.

Celine watched the scene with confusion, and then comprehension before putting her face in her hands.

"These girls…"

Chapter Text

Every day since their “match” was spent training. After Mira had inevitably been tortured into submission, Celine had arrived to chastise the girls for tormenting their teammate.

No one involved believed they would not do it again in a heartbeat. But she had to at least put forth the effort.

Since that day, Mira has spent as much time as she could learning how to work with the honmoon. Zoey and Rumi had been more than happy to work with her on every occasion they could get. 

Zoey because she was a kind and reasonable person that Mira was finding that she enjoyed being close to, and had long since breezed through all of her walls.

And Rumi because she was an insufferable monster that refused to be outdone. Mira still hated that about her.

“You are getting distracted again-” Rumi murmured into her ear, still holding her wrist outstretched, “During a performance, you cannot allow your mind to wander aimlessly. You conduct the honmoon, and you control it. If you do not give it direction, it will not have direction.”

Rumi had been scolding her like this for weeks whenever she got caught up in her head. Today, the pair of them were on their new fancy training field wearing their usual training outfits practicing their mastery of the honmoon, specifically in controlling it more actively. Mira had gotten the hang of getting it to move according to her will, but hadn’t really gotten used to doing that while doing anything else. Which wasn’t particularly useful for anything besides getting hit.

In the beginning, she had been kinder, more willing to offer polite platitudes. Over time, Rumi had become more comfortable being more direct about her feelings. Something that Mira would never admit made her feel seen. Something about getting under Rumi’s skin had become addicting. She tried not to think about that too deeply.

“I’d be easier to concentrate if I didn’t have a purple parasite buzzing in my ear all day.” She hummed lazily, even as she redirected her focus to her wrist. Rumi was still holding her there from behind.

“You know, if you want to hold my hand Rums, you can just say so.” Mira teased.

“If I wanted to hold your hand, I would.” Rumi replied with swift certainty, “You are letting yourself get distracted again. You were so boastful about finding your harmony, and yet you can’t manage something as simple as full body enhancement? Doubtful. The Mira I know would rather die than admit defeat.”

Mira clicked her tongue. She also hated when Rumi was right. Which was a distressing amount of time.

“Finnnne.” Mira groaned in resignation. “From the top then?”

Rumi nodded, “Yes. Now, do you need me to explain the basics to you again.”

“Of course, because obviously I wasn’t listening the first fifty times you went over this.” Mira replied sarcastically.

“Very well, we will go over it again.” Rumi replied resolutely

“Wait, Rumi, I didn’t-” Mira attempted to clarify only to have Rumi barrel past whatever she had hoped to say.

“The honmoon is a spiritual array made by mudang far older than we are. To control it actively, in the state of command, requires a combination of somatic components, known as mudra or stances, and our voices which naturally can ignite the soul. We do this to express our intent and will using abstract methods to communicate complex or esoteric concepts to the souls that make up the array, and thereby have it act out functions based on that intent. As we grow stronger in our connection to the honmoon, we will require fewer mudra or stances to express our intent, and while there are universal signals, it is in our best interest to build a personal connection to how we want to use the honmoon.”

Mira groaned, “Please, It was just a joke-”

“Which is why your Harmony is so important. It is a means by which you can connect to the honmoon uniquely, thus more easily establishing the means by which you express your intent. Your harmony not only guides the honmoon, but gives the honmoon the means by which it can guide you, as your soul will naturally begin to cling to concepts and memories that align with the song, harmonizing with it, and reject other influences. This is also very useful for rejecting mental influences as well, which we can face in the battlefield.”

“Make it stop. I will do anything to make this stop.” Mira pleaded.

“Get it right, and I won’t have to lecture you. Consider it an incentive.” Rumi replied hollowly as she let go of Mira’s hand and walked in front of her. Even now, there was a certain grace to how she moved, each step measured and controlled.

But Mira knew Rumi. The more controlled she was, the more out of control she felt. Given that she was using her drill sergeant voice…

Mira figured she didn’t have long until the girl snapped. 

Mira sighed and focused up. While messing with Rumi was fun, she had no intention of falling behind or putting anything less than her best behind each attempt. It felt wrong, repulsive even. She was still getting used to that part.

“Okay. We run it again.”

Rumi nodded at her, though her face shifted vaguely from irritated to pensive. Still she didn’t comment, which was her way of saying hurry up with it already.

Mira huffed as she reached deep inside. It didn’t feel like meditation, not really, it felt more like listening to a song that she remembered faintly. As it got louder in her mind, it didn’t have lyrics or steps, but the music began to resonate within her. Her heart beat to the rhythm. Her breath moved to the chorus. The honmoon shimmered in anticipation.

100% Ride or Die.

As her heartsong began to echo out from her soul, the honmoon responded in kind, coming to life with color and light. This part she could do. Establish the connection, the frequency.

Now she just had to get it to move how she wanted. She knew the steps, the careful practiced mudras that Celine had taught them and that Rumi had been helping her practice over…and over…and over. She wasn’t stupid, it just-

She goes through the forms again, and just like before, gets locked at the first step, as she gets the honmoon to surround her…and then refuses to do anything else. Like a song that cuts out far too soon.

Mira curses and lets go of her concentration as she falls back onto the field, “Fuck. This is some bullshit.”

Rumi watches impassively, like she always did before squating down beside her, “Hey.”

Mira squinted as she turned her head, “Hey?”

“I have an idea. Or…Zoey and I have been talking about…an idea.” Rumi says looking just slightly away from Mira’s face. “Not that we talk about you behind your back. Okay I guess we kinda do, but nothing bad. Well I mean-”

“Rumi. Put the shovel down.” Mira groaned.

Rumi did a combination scowl and pout that looked way too adorable for the feeling she was trying to express. Zoey and Mira had both agreed not to inform Rumi of this fact until they had to.

“I’m just trying to say, we wanted you to try a…different strategy. I- We don’t think you work with…traditional ways of doing thing. I don’t think you actually care much about tradition at all really.” 

Mira opens her mouth to refute her, but Rumi raises her hand, “Which is fine. You didn’t grow up in any of this. So maybe the traditional way of connecting to the honmoon won’t work for you, just from the ground up. Maybe…you need to forge your own way of doing things…”

Mira frowned at that and looked up. Another way she was different. Problematic. Difficult. She closed her eyes tight, trying not to let the frustration express itself in tears.

Of course I couldn’t just be normal. Of course I had to be the fuck up between us. Ugh…

Mira could feel a damn about the burst inside of her when she suddenly felt something cool and smooth be pressed into her ear.

She was not proud of the sound she made at that moment, as she immediately scrambled away from Rumi. “Rumi what the fuck!?!?!?!?”

Rumi blinked at her from afar, holding up the headphone pod that she had attempted to put into her ears, “We picked out a playlist for you.”

Mira rubbed her ear, “What?”

“A playlist. Zoey and I made one for you…to help you practice.” Rumi looked at the earbud and then shrugged taking out the headphones, “I figured you’d want to listen to it and see if any of the songs resonated with you.”

It was Mira’s turn to give Rumi the strange look, to which she simply raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“...Rumi, this is my problem. Its my song right? I just need to fix me-”

“You don’t need to fix anything.” Rumi replied adamantly, voice a swift steel that cut through Mira’s thoughts.

Mira sat stunned for a moment as Rumi continued, “We are a team. If one of us is struggling, we are all struggling. Zoey and I are here to help you succeed. We all want you to succeed. So if you need something new, even if we don’t know what that is, we will do everything we can to get it for you. That’s what this means. ”

Rumi’s face softened momentarily, as a slight tint of color shades her cheeks, “We would do anything for you Mira.”

Hearing those words burned something deep into the rosette’s heart, like a kindling that had been long since rained on finally catching flame. Something cold and dark and alone within her roared to life and overwhelmed her heart and mind. Mira’s brain fully short circuited at this, leaving her eyes wide and jaw slack. Rumi’s face returned to its usual mask of empty as she waved a hand, “Hey? Do you want to listen or not? If you need to make your own playlist, that’s fine too.”

Mira put her hand over her face, “Rumi! You can’t just say stuff like that to people!” she hissed.

Rumi tilted her head, “I don’t believe I said anything offensive.”

Mira groaned and then laughed. “Fuck. Yeah, give me the damn headphone. And don’t just stick things in peoples ears without asking!!!” She cackled, holding her hand out, as her chest felt lighter than it had in months.

“Okay. We each picked a song, one after the other, that reminded us of you. Feel free to add anything if you feel its relevant.” Rumi handed her the other headphone and the ipod nano attached to it as she stood up.

Mira raised both eyebrows, “What, you aren’t going to listen with me?”

“My presence has not been beneficial to you thus far, I don’t see how it will help in this instance.” She retorts coldly. Mira looks up at Rumi and sees her faraway look. She remembers Zoey’s words.

“We are all screwups together. As a team. Even Rumi.”

Mira reaches out and grabs Rumi’s hands without thinking. Rumi looks down at her without comprehension, furrowing her brow. Mira gives her a half smile and tilts her head back to the ground, “I don’t…hate having you around. And I might need someone to talk my ear off for an hour or two so…stay?”

Rumi’s entire face froze up as she squeezed Mira’s hand. She didn’t open her mouth but her eyes moved in several different directions before focusing back on Mira. 

“I…okay.” Rumi nods stiffly, sitting back down as she puts one of the earbuds into her own ear. 

“So, what's first on the menu? Bach? I Sang Yan? Maybe a more modern composer?” Mira asked in her most posh girl voice.

“Disturbed.” Rumi said with the barest ghost of a smile, “It was Zoey’s idea.”

Mira squinted. Disturbed was a terrible name for really anything. “She has weird ideas about what’s good. Just…don’t tell her if I hate it.”

That night, Zoey would revel in the fact that Mira, did in fact, love the playlist, and played on repeat for the remainder of the day.

Rumi would not say anything about it, but went to bed with a smile on her face.

Chapter Text

Training only heated up from that point on. With Mira having greater command not only over her harmony but the honmoon itself, fights were no longer just about teaching. Each girl had something to bring to the table, and as they spared, iron sharpened iron sharpened iron into blades that danced around one another.

Until one of them chipped.

Mira and Rumi had begun fighting each other in earnest once she had gotten the hang of empowering herself. Almost immediately in fact. This more often than not ended up with Mira launched into the nearest solid rock face, or slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a dent in the crust, but she never really knew how to back down in the first place.

And it wasn’t that Zoey couldn’t fight with them. She could. She’d even gotten great at reading their movements, and guessing how they'd attack next. She was great  at thinking.

The problem came with acting on those thoughts. She could see flaws in attack plans, but would pointing them out be seen as useful? Maybe they were training by leaving flaws in their movements? She definitely could see Rumi doing that, trying to signal easy ways for them to attack. 

What’s more, even if she could see the flaws, could she capitalize on them? Mira and Rumi moved like their decisions were the only right ones. Rumi was cold precision that never faltered and Mira with extreme determination that broke through one's walls. Both of them moved with a confidence that echoed out from them, even if Rumi hadn’t fully discovered her harmony yet. 

Zoey…couldn’t. Not with her heart behind it. Not without being afraid of what it would look like, how the others would feel. It was only a moment's hesitation.

But a moment was all those girls needed. 

For the sixth time that week, Zoey found herself flat on her ass, out of breath, and dizzy while the other girls looked like they had barely broken a sweat.

For the sixth time that week, she smiled and laughed, congratulating Mira on her growth, and Rumi on her talents.

For the sixth time she pretended that she was all sunshine and rainbows, that she was just stumbling a little through the steps and would eventually learn. They didn’t need to worry about her, they had their own problems.

Mira was better, but still very much a novice. For all of her power and drive, she still lacked a lot of the experience and instinct that was required to be a mudang. Worst of all, she was very aware of it, no matter how much Zoey had tried to ease her mind. Which meant if she wasn’t fighting, she was complaining, or brooding.

Rumi was somehow better and worse. She never complained, she never whined, or brooded. Instead she trained. And trained and trained until Zoey could see her fingers bleed, her body break and her mind be on the verge of splintering, and only then would she stop, when she physically couldn’t go any farther. And then she’d do it all again the next day.

Zoey saw them both, doing everything they could to fulfill this role and found herself wanting. She didn’t need to be another burden on their shoulders. They needed someone to lift them up. A smile. A laugh. A spark of color in a cruel world.

So she did her best to pretend like she wasn’t like them. That she didn’t actually care about being the best or getting stronger, or being deadly. That she was still the supporter, the heart, the lover that they needed. 

And for a while, that worked. It felt right. Mira shared music and stories of home. Rumi guided her along and laughed at her jokes. Both of them felt like home.

Zoey didn’t want to admit how much like home it felt like some days.

It all fell apart during training, like it always did. Mira and Rumi moved like two halves of a whole, fire and ice twisting around one another. Zoey could feel the honmoon. She could even almost feel her own song but-

There was no palace for her there. She looked between them and couldn’t find her rhythm. Cold focus and burning passion. It was like watching the sun and moon strike at one another, with each step reinforcing their dire duet. 

Zoey watched and watched, as they stepped around one another, intercepting strikes, pushing and pulling over and over, and couldn’t find where she was meant to be. What her place was. What her role was meant to be. Did they even need her?

She didn’t know when it happened. She didn’t even realise it was happening. But somewhere during training she just…stopped. She stopped moving. Stopped trying. She waited, and waited to be told what to be, how to act, where she was needed.

And when she wasn’t given a command…she left. She gave them an excuse she couldn’t bother to remember and made herself scarce.

It felt just like home. 

Zoey doesn’t really know how she ended up in the tree. It wasn’t the first time she had just ended up somewhere, so she wasn’t very startled. More than anything, she was embarrassed. I let myself get overwhelmed again…

She frowned looking at the black spiral notebook in her hand. The page was covered in ideas that were scribbled out one after another. Ways she could have stepped in. Ways that she could prove herself. That she could be what they needed. 

Zoey didn’t really know what to be if she wasn’t needed. 

She knew that the honmoon had chosen her…but Rumi hadn’t. Not like she had chosen Mira.

Zoey frowned at how her stomach flipped thinking about them. 

They didn’t know it. Of course they didn’t. Mira was too busy trying to prove herself to Rumi and the world and Rumi was too busy trying to prove herself to Celine. Of course they wouldn’t notice how they looked at one another. How they talked. How gentle they were with one another. Of course those two idiots didn’t get it.

Zoey groaned in the tree. It wasn’t that. It wasn’t that they didn’t get it. They knew what they were to each other. They had known from the day she’d shown up. She’d definitely closed the gap in a lot of ways.

But at the end of the day, Zoey was chosen by Celine.

And Mira had been chosen by Rumi.

Zoey was here because she was needed.

Mira and Rumi were here because they were wanted.

She curled her knees into her chest, hidden in the boughs of the massive tree that hummed with the honmoon. She didn’t know how long she’d been up here. She didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about anything anymore. She closed her eyes and was going to try to cry to herself when she heard rustling.

Blinking her eyes open was startled to see Rumi hanging upside down in front of her.

“Hey what’re you-”

“AH!” Zoey, as a reflex, attempted to push Rumi away.

Rumi, being Rumi, did a curl up to avoid being pushed, grabbed the branch above her, twisted her hips down all in one smooth motion as she fell behind zoey and grabbed her by the waist, eliciting another yelp of surprise as she pulled them flush together.

“Careful. If you throw off your balance, you’ll fall. You overextended there.” Rumi said plainly, like she hadn’t just performed some incredibly gymnastic ridiculousness.

Zoey huffed as she leaned back, “Well its a good thing I have my lovely unnie to save me, now isn’t it?”

Rumi didn’t respond to that. The silence hung between them, heavy and awkward. Zoey attempted to cut the tension with a smile, “So hows the weather up-”

“Why did you-” Rumi asked at the same time. Both of them stopped.

“No, you go first.” Zoey requested

“No, I’m being impolite, you go.” Rumi retorted.

Zoey, feeling silly, immediately responded in a false British voice, “ No no PLEASE, I insist that YOU go. ”

“Huh…you don’t usually speak English around us.” Rumi responded. Zoey frowned.

“Sorry, it just…sounded funnier like that.”

Rumi let the silence hang again before clearing her throat, “ No no, but what if…I…double insisted…that you go? ” Rumi responded in fluent English, despite her awkward tone.

Zoey beamed as she attempted to turn around, “WHEN DID YOU LEARN THAT? YOU NEVER SPEAK ENGLISH!”

Rumi pouted, “I’ve always known enough for conversation, its just…well when you came here, me and Mira figured it’d be important for us to know, just in case. So…we learned. It’s your first language right?” 

Zoey blinked at that and shook her head, “Wait…you both…learned a whole language? Just in case?” She couldn’t help but feel more ashamed.

These two could learn a language just for the fun of it, and I struggled with the two I was born with!

“No. We learned it for you.” Rumi replied.

Zoey’s brow furrowed as the information hit her brain but didn’t fully process. She looked at Rumi, subconsciously expecting this to be a joke, or to have some greater explanation. All she found was the same stoic certainty that Rumi always exuded.

“I-...wh-...why? Why? That’s…like thats hard right? I mean I guess not for you two, you two can do anything, like Mira is super smart and pretty, not that you aren’t also pretty, you are very pretty but like that’s just normal for you, and like I’m pretty average like high average, like not sunlight sister average but pretty solid like eight but like you both could be elevens on a bad day and I don’t know why you’d do something like that for me??????”

Rumi let Zoey rant spiral out as she tried to catch her breath. Once she saw the girl had finished, she responded like she always did. Swift, direct and assured.

“Because we wanted to impress you.”

Rumi looks off to the side and clicks her tongue, “I told her we should have done something else. Maybe learn how to cook hamburgers? Americans like that, right?”

Zoey’s mind was reeling for several reasons as she tried not to burst into giggles, “I…I mean yes we- No Rumi that’s- IMPRESS ME?????” She said as her thoughts slammed together in a traffic jam of ADHD hell.

“Yes, that is what I said. We were hoping that our mastery over the english lexicon would be deemed impressive by you, and you’d enjoy speaking to us in either language. Personally, I hoped it would help create a spirit of comradery between us, and make sure we can be…closer.” Rumi said with an unreadable expression.

Zoey didn’t really know what to say to that as Rumi looked her in the eyes. Her heart was beating way too fast. Was this the moment? 

“Hey Zoey?” Rumi murmured low, like she was telling a secret, leaning into Zoey’s space.

Zoey tried her best not to think too much about all of the stories she had read.

Or about the fact that they were literally in a tree.

Oh gods it could be happening.

“Uh- Y-yeah Rumi?” Zoey replied, leaning forward to Rumi.

Wait wait does my breath smell bad? I was crying! I can’t do this after crying! I’m supposed to cry after! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

“Why do you keep pretending to be happy?”

Zoey felt a shock to her system as she pulled back. Rumi stayed where she was, watching without changing her expression.

“Wh- pretend? What- I’m always- What? RUMI I’m like, so happy and I have awesome friends! And Magic! And I can do cool flips now! I CAN DO A BACKFLIP! Do you know how cool that is Rumi? Do you know how awesome it is that I can do more than one backflip and not fall on my face? It's super cool.”

Rumi nodded impassively, “I agree. Your acrobatic acumen is quite impressive. I’d also be inclined to believe that you are an amicable and joyful soul. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve come to seek out and enjoy your company.”

It was getting to be dark, but later on, Zoey would swear she saw a rush of pink to her ears as she spoke.

“But…Mira says that you tend to pretend you are happy, especially when you are upset. I…I can’t say that I don’t understand why. It is…difficult to open up to new people. You had to move from your home country, and are having to spend time with two strangers….and I can understand why you wouldn’t want to open up to us. I don’t intend to force it, of course.” Rumi nodded slowly.

“That being said, I…I want you to at least share what burdens you can with us. If not me, then with Mira at least. She worries. She doesn’t worry. She usually makes some crass statement about being frustrated or annoyed, but really, she just worries a lot. Especially about you.”

Rumi’s eyes widened a fraction as she spoke to Zoey, “N-not that I don’t also worry. I have my own concerns about you as well. No I don’t mean…your work has been more than admirable, I just mean that sometimes, I am concerned about how I am caring for you. Not that you need to be cared for I- I promise you I had a better plan than this, give me a moment.”

 Zoey watched Rumi fumble through her words with a smile that grew bit by bit, as she did her best not to laugh. “Rumi…Rumi it’s okay I…I think I get it.”

“No no, this is important. I…If you will allow, I’d like to dispense with the pleasantries and assert my main points please.”

Zoey couldn’t help but let a giggle slip out at that. Whenever Rumi got nervous, she sounded like she swallowed a thesaurus, “Proceed!”

Rumi nodded, reaching out to place both of her hands onto Zoey’s shoulders, instantly grabbing her full attention. Rumi’s stare was intense as always, but it had a softness to it that had a touch of sadness. It reminded her a lot of how Celine looked at Rumi.

“I…want you to get mad.”

“...Wha?”

Rumi nodded, “I want you to get mad…I want you to yell. And scream. And be rude. And knock things over. I…I want you to be inconvenient…if you need to be. If you need to be a problem…I want to help you solve that. We…we both do. In Mira’s words…um…and please forgive my language.”

Rumi cleared her throat, “It is about time that you fuck around and find out. You are acting…cowardly.”

Zoey squinted as tears began to well up in her eyes, “She didn’t say cowardly, did she?”

“No she did not, but I don’t feel the need to repeat what she did say. The point is, you seem strangely set on acting in such a way that takes up no space. Even during training, you seem reticent to engage unless directly invited. I believed this was you being more on the passive side, but Mira informed me that you may be suffering on your own in an attempt at…well taking my mo-...mentors teachings to heart. But…I…I think they mean something else.”

“Celine…has been through a lot. The world was very cruel to her, and I think she wants to make sure that it is not given the opportunity to be cruel to us. So while your faults and fears cannot be seen by others…I hope you can at least share yourself with us…so long as its safe.”

Rumi frowns, “If I’ve done something to make you believe that I would not listen to your side of things, or wouldn’t make space for you, I apologise. That is my failure as a teammate and as the potential leader of our group.”

“Rumi, It’s okay-”

“It’s not…and that is fine. If I hurt you…if we hurt you…you should be angry. You should be hurt. You should rage, and burn and feel free to take it out on us. We can handle it. We can handle you. All of you, I am pretty sure.”

By this point the tears began to flow hot down her cheeks as she shook her head, “But…But what if I’m…what if it’s too much? What if I hurt you all and you hate me?”

Rumi wrapped her arms around Zoey and sighed, “Then we are fools, and do not deserve your kindness. No one with any sense could dare to hate you. Even if we upset one another…we are meant to be together forever.”

Zoey didn’t know what she was feeling right now. She was happy, sad, embarrassed, bitter, angry, hurt, lost and so many more things all at once. She didn’t know what to do, or what to say, or how to make it better. 

So she did the only thing she could think to do.

Bite Rumi.

Who then proceeded to yelp in surprise as they both tumbled out of the tree, and hit the ground.

There was a moment of them being stunned as Mira looked down at them and smacked her forehead, "You both couldn't be normal for like five minutes?"

And then zoey's notebook fell down, knocked Mira on the head and had her fall over with the other two.

That cracked the tension in half as Rumi and Zoey burst out laughing. Mira resisted but soon enough she was laughing too.

Zoey had no idea what to do or who to be.

And at the moment, that was fine.

Right now, with her girls, she could be everything and nothing and that was fine.

And somewhere deep inside of Zoey's heart, a bell chimed.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for the change to set in. Before the week was out, Zoey walked out onto the training field with Celine behind her, looking like she hadn’t gotten any sleep. Which to be fair, is how she usually tended to look. Between taking care of the girls, setting up future endeavors, training, keeping parents up to date, and occasionally hunting demons herself, the woman rarely looked well rested.

Today there was a sort of familiar mirth to her exhaustion. She held a black mug of coffee (one that the girls had demanded she purchase) that said “My coffee is as black as my cold dead heart” and a simple tee shirt and sweats like her girls. Her smile was soft and mildly curious as Zoey pulled her along.

“CMON WE GOTTA TELL THEM PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-” Zoey demanded pulling Celine by her free hand.

Celine sighed as she was dragged along, “Yes yes, of course.”

Rumi and Mira had only just finished their warmups, with both of their hands already being wrapped. Though they complained about them, the two had already gotten used to their basic set of exercises, and what used to take them most of the morning into the afternoon only took up part of their morning at this point. 

Rumi gave a bow to Celine, as Mira gave a two finger salute to the pair.

“Finally figure it out huh? It’s about time one of you caught up.” Mira bragged crossing her arms, “Surprised it wasn’t our princess here, but I guess she can’t be the best at everything. Better luck next time, Ru.”

Mira winked at Rumi who expertly resisted the urge to punch her in the arm. Mira saw her fist clench and snickered.

Celine opened her mouth, “Yes yes, alright, you can showboat later. First we have to-”

“FIGHT ME!” Zoey pointed at the pair aggressively. 

Rumi and Zoey startled as Celine’s eyes squinted in perplexion.

“What?” The three of them said in unison.

Zoey pouted and folded her arms dramatically, “You two, versus me! Sparring! I challenge both of you for the title of leader! Right now! Put’em up.”

Mira looked to Rumi who shrugged and then looked back to Celine who was rubbing her brow.

“(It’s like Poppy and Miyeong all over again…how are these kids…)” She murmured to herself clearly already tired of the antics before it had even hit ten.

Rumi raised her hand, “I forfeit. I don’t have a harmony yet, and thus do not see myself as a challenge for this particular bout.”

Mira gasped, “What! Why? You didn’t forfeit with me!”

Rumi shrugged, “Different circumstances call for different tactics.”

“This is a conspiracy! I call bullshit!” Mira cried pointing between them.

Zoey nodded, “A wise move from our former leader. She will be treated well in the new regime.”

Mira’s eye twitched, “Oh? Counting me out already are you?”

Zoey smiled teasingly, “Well you seemed so worried about Rumi leaving…”

“Like I need that princess to knock your block off? Ha! I got mine first. You think you can beat me on the first day?” Mira said beckoning for Zoey to come in, “Fine! But if I win, I’m getting my Unnie privileges back for good. Deal?”

Zoey thought about this fact very seriously for all of half a second. 

“Deal! Onetwothreego!” Was all the warning Mira got before Zoey's song crescendo’d from a whisper into a deafening howl.

The honmoon around her exploded with light and color of all kinds that was almost blinding, like a festival in the dead of night. The music was lively, bouncing, playful, enticing, exciting and so very joyful, moving to an infectious beat that carried you along for the ride. Zoey moved like she was moving on a tide of color and chaos as she flickered from outside of the barrier, into a flying drop kick directly towards Mira’s center of mass.

Mira is sent blasting across the field as Zoey lands, and kips up, though she isn’t out of bounds. In fact, as Zoey recovers, she can see Mira’s own song had roared to life in response. It is trust, determination, laughter and screaming, rebellion and loyalty, all at once. It was a song of things that had to be said and acts that must be done, and a truth that would be lived no matter what. Her song rippled through the honmoon and anchored her to the ground, keeping her from flying off into the air and instead digging groves into the dirt as she steadied herself with a wild smile.

As the honmoon wrapped around Mira’s torso and limbs like armor, her song rising with her spirit, she called out, “Is that all you got twinkle toes? All flash and no fight?”

Zoey laughed maniacally from the other side of the field, “Why don’t you come and find out! You NERD!”

Mira and Rumi gasped, as Celine looked between the girls in confusion.

“I’ll show you a nerd! Bring it!” Mira retorted, slamming her fists together.

“It has been BROUGHTEN” Zoey said, getting into a low battle stance.

Celine sighed and sat down on the rock outside the field, sipping her coffee as Rumi sat down beside her and put her head on Celine’s shoulder. Celine used her free hand to gently stroke her hair.

“Does this have anything to do with those japanese cartoons you all have been watching lately?” Celine said with a raised eyebrow.

Rumi nodded, “Mostly likely. Also I think this is just how they have fun with each other. I think its very amusing.”

Celine took another sip of her coffee, momentarily obscuring her smirk as she watched the girls go to war with one another, “I suppose that is one way of describing it.”

[An Hour Earlier]

Celine woke up to the sound of her office door being knocked on. She hadn’t realised she had fallen asleep in her office again. It was a bad habit that she had fallen into. 

Still, she was the adult and it was clear one of her girls needed her attention, so she wiped her face, cleaned up the papers she’d been looking at the previous night and walked over to the door, opening it softly, “Yes Zoey?” 

Zoey, bright eyed and bushy tailed far earlier than she normally would be, bounced in front of Celine, “I GOT IT! Wait, how did you know it was me? Wait no that’s not important I got it! I did it! I made my heart go BRRR like I did it! I’m sure I did it this time! Can we try again? Please? Please? Please? PleasePleasePleasePlease-”

Celine put her hand over the girl's mouth even as she couldn’t help but smile fondly, “Yes, we can try again. Please calm down a moment so that we can get you…into a meditative state.

Zoey nodded with her mouth still blocked as Celine slowly removed her hand. The teen immediately rushed into the office and sat down in one of the chairs opposite the main desk, as Celine sighed and rolled her eyes privately.

Truthfully Zoey had claimed she ‘had it’ the last few days, and while she had definitely been closer each time, she had yet to find a song that fully expressed her spirit. Not like Mira had. Celine had some suspicions as to why, but those would only truly be confirmed once it fully manifested.

Which hopefully, was today. She couldn’t handle another Zoey Alarm.

Celine walked back over to her desk, putting her hands on the edge as she faced Zoey, “Alright Zoey, you know the drill. Let’s try a simple resonance.”

Zoey nodded eagerly as she began to place her hand on her head and one onto her stomach. Celine squinted, “Zoey what are you-”

“It helps! I promise!” Zoey said looking up resolute despite how silly she looked.

Celine sighed and waved for her to go on, “Whatever helps.”

She smiled as she then began to pat her head and rub her belly at the same time while beat boxing. “Bootsncatsnbootsancats-”

As she did voice began to harmonize with her own spirit. More than that, the tapping of her hand on her head and the rhythm of the other hand on her stomach were reflected in the honmoon, layering on top of one another. In effect, it seemed as if she were playing two different songs that collided and made something else. Not separate, or destructive but colorful and distracting. 

Celine listened and it may have been the exhaustion, or just the silliness of seeing it at work but she had to work hard not to laugh at that moment. She put her hand up, signaling for Zoey to stop as she used her other hand to try to cover her giggles as a cough.

“No no-that's….(gods) that's enough. Yes, I…I think we’ve got it.” Celine says with a forlorn certainty even as she schools her expression. An all too familiar kind of song, she thought to herself, looking down at Zoey.

“So what is it! What’s my song! OH is it a secret? Am I a secret weapon! We figured it out, or at least mostly yesterday, because I was like okay ‘I keep almost getting it but then it feels weird.’ And then Mira was like, ‘why don’t you make it weirder then?’ and then I was like ‘OMG I CANT CELINE WOULD FREAK’ and then RUMI was like ‘Celine does not freak. She breaks down slowly and steadily, like a mountain’ and then I was like-” Zoey rambles before Celine puts one finger over her lips again, and the other over her face.

“I...will talk about some of your statements later. For now, the song.” Celine said with a soft yet authoritative voice as she pulled her finger back, “Your song is…a unique one. It’s chaotic, and untameable, but very…happy.” Celine thought to herself, as she rubbed her chin, “It’s also more than that. There is a keenness to it, a subtly under all of the sound. It looks silly but there is a complexity to its structure that underlines the entire thing.”

Zoey looked up at Celine in awe and gasped, “LIKE A MAGICIAN?”

Celine blinked, “Like…a magician?”

“Yeah! Like like okay okay, so there is a guy called the mind freak and he’s a magician or like HOUDINI! Like okay so one time I was thinking about how we have magic and like we should be magicians so I looked up how magic tricks work and its all about misdirection right? Like making people focus on one thing so that you can do something in front of them and they don’t notice even though its right there! So like that! OH WAIT DOES THAT MAKE ME DOUBLE MAGIC?????”

Celine opens her mouth and then closes it and then opens it again and then closes it. She rubs her chin and then nods, “..I suppose…yes. Your song is like a magician’s act. It’s something that is paradoxically silly and serious, intense and light, playful and yet potent. Honestly, I’ve only heard one song even like it…”

“OH? Who was it?” Zoey asked eagerly, on the edge of her seat, only to see Celine’s face immediately become crestfallen, “O-OR you don’t have to tell me! It’s fine! I’m okay not knowing, you already told me so much!” 

Celine smiled and rubbed Zoey’s head, “Children shouldn’t concern themself with adult problems. Now, how about we get you a name huh? That helps you solidify it in your mind and call upon the song easier.”

“OH I HAD AN IDEA ABOUT THAT!” Zoey said, raising her hand. 

Celine raised an eyebrow, “Just one?”

“Well actually it was 157 BUT Mira and Rumi helped me pick out the best one!” She said with a smile that's all too bright.

Celine chuckled softly and waved a hand, “Alright lets hear it.”

[Back to Present]

Zoey and Mira’s songs clashed and danced into one another over and over, as high powered intensity met maddening creativity over and over with sparks of magic and laughter. 

“-X gon give it to ya!” Mira chanted as she came down with a powerful fist, crushing the ground around Zoey’s feat, as earth crackled and cascaded around.

“-So call me maybe!” Zoey’s song responded as she flipped backwards, as she twisted in the air, empowering her hand to claw through the ground, sending dirt outwards towards Mira. The Dirt that was then also empowered by the honmoon, turning them into mini shotgun pellets.

Their souls had already begun to glow in the light of one another, spirits ignited by their divine voices as they sung their respective anthems, creating a chaotic mashup of music. Even as they clashed, the hunter’s spirits couldn’t help but call out to one another.

100% Ride or Die, a song of certainty and absolutes

And nows its compliment-

[An Hour Ago]

“CHOI’S CUNNING CONTRADICTION CARNIVAL!!!!” Zoey says pointing her finger to the ceiling as before putting her thumb and index finger under her chin, “Also known as C4!”

“C4? Why C4?” Celine questioned

Zoey’s eyes glimmered as Celine fell into her trap, “CUZ I’M DA BOMB!” 

Zoey made a motion with her hand like an explosion, and smiled incredibly proud of herself as Celine shook her head.

[Present]

Rumi looked up at Celine to see her smirking, and tilted her head, “Is something funny?”

Celine shook her head, “I suddenly understand my teachers a little too well.”

When Rumi gives her a blank stare, Celine simply sips her coffee looking back out at Zoey and Mira having the time of their lives.

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” Celine said softly.

Chapter Text

Harmonies were the songs of the soul. Learning one's harmony was as simple as learning the rhythm of one's own existence. Not easy. But simple. Once you heard it, even a single note, it was impossible to miss the sound of one’s own soul. For most hunters, finding one's harmony was a massive step in their growth, and a moment of celebration.

For Rumi, it was a hanging guillotine. Even before she knew what she was becoming, she knew the patterns were dangerous. She knew they came from her father, that they made her strange. She knew they got worst the more she felt, the deeper she felt, especially when it hurt. She knew the marks liked hurt. They liked pain.

Rumi had heard a note to her own song once. A soft broken cadence, like the sound of glass breaking. Like a cage being rent asunder. It was the earth cracking open and the sky falling apart.

She had never told Celine.

She was terrified that she heard. That she would notice. That she would know that there was something broken about Rumi, that SHE was broken. She wasn’t afraid of Celine being angry with her. If Celine was angry, she was direct. She told Rumi what was wrong and how it could be fixed. Angry would be okay.

She was afraid that Celine would be sad. That she’d look at Rumi the same as she looked at her mothers grave. 

Someone she had failed.

Someone who was lost to her. Another crack in a heart that had never truly healed, no matter how much she attempted to keep things together.

Rumi knew how strong Celine was. She knew how much Celine loved her. She also knew how hopeful Celine was for her. For her group. For her friends. For the world.

Rumi knew that Celine was cold. She knew how Mira and Zoey saw them, and how they communicated. She also knew how much her mo-mentor hoped. Dreamed. She knew how guarded the love she had was, and how freely she gave what little was left to Rumi and her girls.

Hm. Rumi felt weird about that one. Her girls. She had always known they were hers. In fact, she had wished for it. Wished for the type of closeness that would cause a kind woman with a heart of stone to weep in the middle of the night. The kind of forever that was only in folklore and myth.

If it were Mira and Zoey, she could enjoy forever.

If it were Mira and Zoey, she would mourn them with every strike.

Mira who was fire and stone, simmering deep into the bone, and steady as a mountain.

Zoey who was the air in their lungs, and the beating of their hearts.

It’d only been a few years, but she already refused to imagine a world without them. A world where she couldn’t be with them in some way.

And now her song threatened the very happiness she had come to love. How fitting that her nature be the thing that threatens her ability to be loved yet again.

She hadn’t told them of course. How could she? If she explained why she was afraid, she’d have to explain what was wrong with her soul and, then talk about the marks and She knew she couldn’t do that.

Even if she could trust Mira and Zoey…she couldn’t trust them enough to keep it secret. Keep it safe.

The last time she had slipped up, Celine had to leave for almost a week. Something about losing the trail.

When she came back she was covered in cuts, and talismans. Shards of weapons lodged in her still. Celine had thought she was quiet. And she was.

But Rumi could hear the pain in her soul. The ringing of chains.

Duty Above All.

She knew that if she told them, Celine would have to act. She’d have to defend them, be more vigilant, be more afraid, be more depressed, and unhappy than she already was. 

Our Faults and Fears Can Never Be Seen.

Rumi understood why. It didn’t stop her from seeing. From knowing. Even when Celine woke up the next day looking fine. Even when she climbed out of bed every morning after crying herself to sleep. Even when she spent every day, teaching, sparing, directing, organizing, and cooking for her girls, Rumi knew.

And she couldn’t do that.

Not to Celine.

So she had to hide. But that was the problem wasn’t it?

How did one hide the song of one's soul? How could she hide herself from the two girls who were putting their entire selves on the line? How could she claim to be the leader if she wasn’t able to handle the same things they could? How could she claim to be their friend?

How could she dare to dream of being something more if she wouldn’t put her heart on the line?

And Rumi wanted more. She didn’t know the shape, or color, or reason, but she wanted more of whatever she had found here. She wanted to be able to be a part of it. She wanted to be able to laugh and scream, and burn like they did.

Rumi wanted so much but had no way to get it.

So she did what she always did when she felt lost and afraid.

She asked Celine.

Celine knew everything.

Celine was stumped.

She found herself lying in bed after yet another exhausting day, unable to sleep. How could she when Rumi, sweet, quiet, obedient Rumi, had asked her a simple question?

“What do I do about my Harmony?”

Celine groaned, pushing the heels of her palms against her own eyes. She was ashamed to admit that she hadn’t even thought of that. Why would she! For any other hunter, your harmony was a good thing. Something that helped you understand yourself, express yourself. It was a tool by which your soul came to life and shined. If anything, she had been waiting to see how Rumi would present herself.

How could she call herself a guardian? How was she supposed to be a mentor when she missed something like this?

You haven’t been getting enough rest. She knew Miyeong would say, with her teasing lilt. 

Celine missed her. 

She also knew that Miyeong would have been just as clueless, but it would have been easier with her around. Now she had to flounder on her own without letting the girls know how much she was struggling just to keep them afloat.

Yeah Celine. What DO we do about the fact that our charge is half demon, and her song might make her more than half demon. Or it might alert every mudang in korean of her presence, and force her on the run. Or it might just be a quiet and normal song that does nothing until she summons her weapon and then it screams or something. She thought to herself, already exhausted.

She had told Rumi she was thinking about it. That she had it handled. Celine wouldn’t dare call herself an ideal parental figure, but she knew that Rumi needed someone to rely on. A pillar of certainty in a world that was destined to be so uncertain and cruel. She needed to be protected, and Celine had tried her hardest to prepare the girl so that she could protect herself.

Rumi was smart.

Rumi was kind.

Rumi was brave.

Rumi was an amazing child that Celine couldn’t be more proud of if she tried.

And Rumi was a Demon.

Even if she didn’t look like it, or act like it, or sound like it, the truth of the matter was that Rumi was a demon. Enough that the patterns showed. Enough that Gwi-ma could brand her.

Celine understood the circumstances. She had made her promise, even if she hadn’t known what she was getting into.

Others hadn’t know.

Others wouldn’t care.

She knew too many exorcists that were cleanse first, investigate later.

She was often one of them.

So what was she meant to do when Rumi’s soul began blaring out signals of DEMON HERE across the entire honmoon just because Celine had been a poor teacher and worst mother.

Not mother. Mentor. We don’t get to be her mother. Miyeong is her mother. We took that from her. Even if we had to…we have to take responsibility for that. We are not her mother. Celine told herself for another night.

The line was getting harder to draw. She was the one taking care of her. She was the one that remembered birthdays, made sure she wasn’t sick, made sure she ate, that she bathed, that she looked presentable, was cared for. She was there and Miyeong wasn’t-

And who’s fault was that? The thoughts came unbidden.

Celine sat up in her bed, throwing her legs over the side. She rested her elbows on her thighs as she rubbed her face slowly.

“Another sleepless night then. I doubt I’d get any answer from that anyhow.”

She grabbed her phone off the counter and checked the time. 3:41am. She frowned and did some mental math.

It’d be around noon for her…maybe…

Part of Celine chaffed against it. She knew she’d never hear the end of it if she faltered now.

Rumi’s face flashed in her mind. 

Eyes downcast, voice soft, hesitant. Not at all like the unflinching girl she had raised. She’d be tugging at her shirt sleeves. She probably didn’t even notice she did that when she got nervous.

Celine smiled softly at the memory. Rumi had asked for help. She didn’t do that often. Neither did Celine.

If Rumi could manage it for a moment…well she couldn’t let herself be shown up by a teen now could she?

The phone rang once. Twice.

The other side picked up with a yawn, “Sup bitch?”

Celine did not laugh. She certainly did not feel the urge to do so. She schooled her expression like an adult and sighed, “Seo, its…Seo it’s almost noon.”

“And?”

“You know your daughter gets up earlier than you.” Celine quips, looking down at her nails. When was the last time she filed them?

“With you on her ass? Yeah I bet she does.” Seo-an yawns again, “Now what are you overthinking about?”

Celine freezes up, “I-I wasn’t-”

“Yes. You were. It’s like…what…ya know what, it is early as balls in korea. That is how early it is Celine. As balls. You don’t even have balls. Why are you up? OH I know why. Because you are freaking out, but can’t say you are freaking out, so you just grumble and moan to yourself until you finally explode and have to talk to someone or you’ll die.” Seo let her words set in for a moment before commenting, “Now stop pouting and talk to me.”

Celine fell back against the bed, “I’m not pouting.”

She could almost ear the smirk through the phone, “Sure you aren’t Cece.”

Celine rolled her eyes as a warmth settled in her chest, “...It’s about Rumi.”

“Oh.” Seo-an replied, as rustling could be heard on her end, “Sorry, are you-”

“Everything is alright. I…have it handled.” Celine lied.

“Mhm.”

Seo didn’t press her. Celine was eternally grateful. That wasn’t a dam she was willing to open just yet.

“I just…the other two have found their Harmonies…so Rumi is bound to get hers any day now.”

“Well yeah but isn’t that a- OOOHHHH.” Poppy reached the realization much faster than Celine had. She was good with that sort of thing. 

“Yeah. I…I don’t think there is a good answer here.” Exhaustion coated Celine’s voice like wet cement, “If I stop her, I’m hindering not just her, but her entire generation. The generation that could do what we didn’t do. The generation that could finally push it over the edge in a way our ancestors never thought would have been possible.”

“But if I don’t stop her, then she gets revealed to the world, far too early. I would put myself on the line to save her but…I don’t think I’m enough Seo.”

When have I ever been enough? She thinks to herself.

“...Hm…okay well that one seems pretty simple actually.”

Celine sputters out a cough, “Simple? Did- HOW? How is that simple? Were you listening? Don’t tell me you just tuned all of that out?” she growls at the phone. Once again, she wishes she had figured out how to strangle someone across the world with the honmoon.

“What? No, I was listening. You just keep getting caught up in your head. That’s kinda the issue with your song Cece, you think of everything in terms of HAVE TO instead of CAN DO.” Poppy hummed like the dilemma that was driving her insane was just another errand to run.

“Oh? Well, what, pray tell, is the answer then?”

“Same thing you should have done from the beginning. Make your own song and make it loud!!!”

“Seo, what in the world are you talking about? Your harmony is something that comes from your soul-”

“EXACTLY Cece. YOUR soul. It’s YOURS. So if you don’t like the way your heart is? Change it! You get to decide who you are today, and the day after that, and the day after that. No one gets to define who you are, except for you.”

Celine bites her lip. She wishes it was that easy. That labels didn’t matter. That others didn’t matter.

“I can hear you overthinking, you know? Honestly, I can see where she gets it from.”

“Shut up.” Celine retorted.

“WAIT WAS THAT A SHUT UP? FROM TIGHTASS CELINE? WAIT SAY IT AGAIN I WANT A RECORDING!!!” Seo screamed into the phone with manic laughter as Celine leaned it away.

Maybe this was a mistake…

“I should go…” Celine said softly, about to hang up the phone before she heard Seo call out.

“Wait! Before you go…just…even if you don’t get it. Think about it. I think…I think it’d be good. These things aren’t meant to be chains. They’re banners. One of these days, I’m going to teach you how to fly your colors one way or the other.”

Celine chuckled at that, “We’ll see. Good afternoon Seo.”

“Goodnight Celine. Please let yourself rest.” She murmured with a softness that Celine was still getting used to.

The call went dead as she found herself looking up at the ceiling.

“...It’s not easy…but it is simple.” Is the last thing she remembers before sleep claims her.

Chapter Text

Rumi wasn’t sure when the moment she got comfortable with the other two was. They were a constant in her life, so she knew it was inevitable, but it still feels like it snuck up on her. She didn’t even realise it was happening until she found herself sitting in between zoey’s legs as she braided Rumi’s insanely long hair with Mira’s head in her lap, complaining about the week like usual as Rumi gently carded through her pink locks.

“-I’m telling you, if it’s a draw, both of us get to be unnies! That’s only fair!” Zoey insisted loudly.

“And I’m telling you, for the fifth time, that I’d rather take you down with me. Neither of us get to be unnies, and that’s PLENTY fair. You didn’t win, and neither did I, so neither of us get what we want.”

“Rumi-ssi, can’t you see how much Mira is bullying me? I don’t deserve this. I am a cute cinnamon roll and I deserve to be treated as such!” Zoey demanded with a huff

“Cinnamon roll my ass. You’re closer to a wasabi roll. Soft but spicy.” Mira retorted with a smirk.

“Oh? So you DO think I’m cute then~” Zoey teased, the iron jaws of her trap closing around Mira as her smirk fell from her face.

“I mean…Duh. Stupid. That’s obvious. Like…we are all cute…in our ow…I mean I’m not cute. I’m tough. And Rumi isn’t cute-”

Rumi tilted her head, “I’m not?”

Mira’s eyes widened a fraction, “I mean you could be, I mean like…you are…in your own way, like a tiger cub, you know?”

Zoey cackled from above as Mira rolled her eyes and turned over away from the two of them, “Whatever. Just finished her hair already, I don’t want to spend our one day off this week on the floor.”

Rumi smiled softly as gently scratched Mira behind the ears, causing a swift full body shiver that she failed to suppress. Rumi’s eyes half lidded in amusement as a smile manifested on her face, hidden from both of the girls.

Cute.

She blinked at the thought and tilted her head only to have Zoey move it back into place, “Ah Ah ah! Keep your head still! This is taking forever as is!!!”

“It’d go faster if you let me do it.” Mira sighed from the ground.

“You got to do it last time! It’s my turn and I get to take as long as I want.”

Rumi waves her hands, “Girls, it’s fine. Mira, if you are bored, you can feel free to engage in your own activities during this time, I do not intend to hold you back. If you require Zoey for these activities, she is also free to do so. I can handle my own hair.”

“Nuh uh! No way are you getting out of this Rums. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to play with your hair huh? Months! Years! Decades even!!!” She exclaims dramatically.

“Zoey, we haven’t even known her for that long.” Mira chuckles sardonically.

Zoey, hearing the laugh smiles wide as can be, her victory cemented, “Yeah well sometimes it feels like it. Which is basically the same thing. You know, it was Einstein that said that time was relative.”

Mira let out a short and sharp laugh, “Not what that means Zoomie.”

Rumi could feel Zoey pouting at the nickname, even as she continued to braid her hair.

Still, Rumi couldn’t help but agree. After the other two revealed their songs, Rumi couldn’t help but indulge in the sense of familiarity and understanding. Things they did just made more sense now, like having a backing track that set the mood for a scene. It wasn’t an explanation per say, but it made each word feel more alive. More real.

“Can’t you two play nice? If you keep fighting, I’m kicking you both out.” Rumi teased only for the other two to stiffen. 

“What no, Rumi, we would never fight, we are besties, RIGHT MIRA?!?!?!?” Zoey exclaimed quickly.

“Yeah, Bestie’s Ru. No need to get testy-” Mira cringed as she heard the rhyme.

Zoey's eyes immediately sparkle in response, “OH Is Mira feeling Zesty? Need a glass of Nestle?”

“Zoey-” Mira groaned

“Calm down and take a breath please! Or lay down and take a rest, chief!” Zoey continues on the beat, completely ignoring Mira's protests with a smile wide as the day was long

“I’m already laying down! Right now!” Mira said, placing her hands over her face, but her smile couldn’t be so easily hidden.

Rumi giggled at both of their antics, causing Mira to poke her eyes through her hands and Zoey to gasp from behind. Both of them shared an unreadable look with one another as Rumi tried to decipher what just happened.

“Hey what are you both up to?” Rumi clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes.

“Nothing? Why would we be up to something? Really I’ve never done anything in my life. I’m like a boulder. You could call me THE BOULDER. In fact, I demand that for all further communication, my pronouns shall be the boulder.” Zoey rambles.

“What Zoey means-” Mira attempts to correct

“What THE BOULDER means, thank you.”

Mira’s face falls flat as she rolls her eyes, “Me and Rocky Road up there aren’t doing anything. You just don’t laugh a lot, so when you do, we listen.”

“The boulder would like to mention that you have been laughing more lately, which is great!” Zoey hums brightly.

Rumi thought about that. Had she been laughing more? She looked down at Mira who was smirking up at her, “What’cha staring at ruthless?”

Something about how her voice had started to drop recently made Rumi’s stomach flip and heart flutter.

“Rumi! Stop moving your head so much! How am I supposed to braid your hair if-” Zoey complains as she tugs Rumi’s head back into position by her hair.

The sound that comes from her lips is unholy.

All three of them stop what they are doing immediately as the silence weighs on the moment.

Rumi is looking at the wall and refuses to make eye contact.

Zoey’s hands are in the air as if Rumi’s hair had suddenly become a live wire.

Mira had sat up so quick she was dizzy.

All of them were red enough to look sunburnt.

Celine knocks on the door, causing all of them to jump as she pokes her head into the room, “Girls I need to have a word with-”

Celine watches all of them trying their best to pretend to be normal. Zoey was failing to whistle while lying back on the bed, with her arms behind her head.

Mira was reading a book that she held upside down and was on the table of contents.

Rumi was just…standing, with her hands on her hips, trying to look very serious.

Celine squinted, “What are you three doing?”

“Nothing!” They all say in unison.

Celine looks at the three girls at a weird age, all being deeply awkward, and starts connecting some dots. She then proceeds to disconnect said dots and shake her head.

“Well you can finish up your nothing later. I have to have a word with Rumi.”

They all murmur ascents to that as Rumi quickly speed walks into the hallway. Celine looks back at the other two and then coughs into her hand, “-Erm…and next time maybe lock the door. That’ll give you a few more seconds.”

Mira’s face blooms scarlet as she sticks her face further into the book. Zoey hides her face in her hands but can’t keep the blush from running from her ears to her shoulders. Before they both combust into flames, Celine does the merciful thing and closes the door.

She turns to Rumi who looks concerned, “We weren’t-..They weren’t…I mean we’re not…”

Celine looked down at her daughter charge, a young woman who had otherwise always kept a cool head, even under the harshest training, fumble through an excuse. She sighs.

I’ve got to teach these girls how to be more discreet about these things, or the idol industry is going to chew them up.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Celine replies in her usual cold cadence as she puts her hand on Rumi’s back, “For now, we have a more pressing matter, in regards to your harmony. Come with me.”

Rumi nods tersely, eager to escape the situation as Celine leads her down the hall to her office. 

Chapter Text

The walk to Celine's office was an awkward one, punctuated by the clack of heels against the hardwood floor. Rumi refused to speak until spoken to. She was polite like that, respectful. Celine had seen to it that she had the manners to back up her intelligence. Book knowledge was important but soft skills spoke volumes, especially in their industry.

In truth, Celine wasn’t a fan of the lessons that were required for Rumi to learn. While other girls could play in the fields, Rumi had to learn how to be content in silence and work through exhaustion. While other girls could go to festivals and harvests, Rumi had to learn how to conduct herself in meeting and boardrooms, with her vacation being the moments in between obligations. Rumi was a child and yet she was destined to be the voice of a generation. Destined for greatness.

Celine often wondered if she ever wanted to be great. Celine certainly hadn’t. She had been a farm girl on a rice paddy when she had been called up by the temple for the song she performed at the yearly harvest festival. For years she had thought she had simply been doing her duty for her family. For tradition. Not in her wildest dreams would she have believed that she was actually entreating with gods or spirits. 

Not in her cruelest nightmares did she believe that she would have to become what she is today. Cold. Calculating. Cruel. Callous. Things that she used to despise in other adults, she now embodied so that the next generation would not have to bear the same weights that she had. So that they did not have to face the same struggles, make the same sacrifices. The diets. The routines. The glided cage of filth.

Celine hated the world that she was thrusting the girls into. She hated it with every fiber of her being, with every modicum of justice residing in her soul. Yet just like the ones before her, here she was, imposing the will of the ancestors on the next generation. For the sake of the honmoon. For the sake of the world. For their safety.

Because duty was to be put above all. Even herself. Especially herself.

Always herself.

Even as her heart bled, her blood boiled, and her bones shattered, if she could spare the next generation even a single pain that she had to endure, that her partners had to endure, it would be worth it. If they didn’t have to feel the same shame and fear, even if it had to be in the dark, it would be worth it.

Rumi was worth it. They all were. 

But especially Rumi.

Rumi sat down in the leather chair across from Celine's desk quietly. Eyes forward. Back straight. Hands held politely in her lap, but ready to spring up if ready. Legs not spread, but not crossed either, to prevent herself from being slowed in case she needed to strike. 

Even without being asked, Rumi knew her exit strategy from the room. She knew potential avenues of attack and defense, where she could hold a chokepoint and where she could push the advantage. She had kept an eye out for Celine’s reach (though she was sure that could change swiftly) and was listening for any obvious changes in the honmoon. Her mind went over every angle of attack and defense that she could conceive, be it physical or social.

After all, what else was a teen to do when called to their guardians office. 

After the shameful display that she had exhibited with Zoey and Mira, she was quite certain she was going to be scolded about the nature of her propriety and focus. They had been goofing off when they could have been training, even if it wasn’t required. Moreover, Rumi knew that she hadn’t just been goofing off. She’d been…indulging.

She had begun indulging more often than she’d like to admit.

Indulging in their touch. Their attention. The quiet moments. The almosts. Oh how she indulged in the almosts that she had with them. 

The almost glances.

The almost wanderings.

The almost confessions.

The almost…other things.

Rumi swiftly redirected her mind. She was indulging again. The fantasies of what they could be instead of what they should be. They had become more enticing by the day. Rumi knew that it was her duty to restore the honmoon, and to lead the next generation of hunters to a glorious future. She was honored by the opportunity. Excited by the prospects.

It just so happened that sometimes, in the silence between training, or the moments between rests…her will wavered. 

After all, until the honmoon was made golden, their duty was to protect it. It wasn’t until after the honmoon was permanently sealed that she could let herself go fully. Only then could she set aside her inhibitions and enjoy the company of these two to her fullest extent. Hopefully for the rest of their long lives.

She just had to be patient. She was good at being patient.

She just really really really didn’t want to be sometimes.

Which was probably why Celine had called her into the office instead of talking about her harmony with the other two. Celine preferred keeping these sorts of things private. A means of maintaining dignity. Propriety. 

Even if Celine knew exactly what was going on, she would be respectful and courteous. Rumi always respected that about her. She was always in control.

Rumi wanted to be just like her when she grew up.

She heard the clack of Celine’s nail against the wooden desk as she gave her an expectant eyebrow.

“Rumi, plum, have you been listening?” Celine spoke in her usual deep and exact cadence, each word enunciated such that it carried its own weight. 

Rumi’s eyes cast downward, “No Celine. I apologise. I was distracted by my own musings. It won’t happen again.”

Celine clicked the nail of her index finger to the desk once and exhaled through her nose, holding her forehead, “See that it doesn’t. You may be bored, or find what others say irrelevant or even irritating, but you must be courteous in everything that you do. Even the smallest slights will be turned against you if you are not careful in this industry, especially when dealing with Chaebol producers or high level executives. They expect a base level of interest in whatever they say, no matter how banal, and if you fail to entertain them, they will resort to underhanded tactics.”

“Yes Celine. I understand.” Rumi nodded, having heard this before, even as the guilt settled into her heart. She was supposed to be better. She wanted to be better.

Celine watched her with a careful eye and sat up straighter, “Good. You are a very clever and talented girl Rumi. I just want people to see the best of you. That is what I see every time I look at you, and I want others to see it too.” She folds her fingers, “Which brings us to the topic of your Harmony.”

Rumi can’t help it. She flinches. There wasn’t anything particularly harsh about Celine's tone, but the subject matter itself felt like a molten stone dropping into her stomach. She gets the urge to cling to her sweatpants to steady herself but resists, making sure to show decorum.

Celine saw the best in her. She would not dishonor that by showing weakness.

“Yes Celine.” Rumi says, keeping her eyes focused on Celine's and her breath steady.

Celine’s eyes crinkle faintly as the tip of her lips twitch up ever so slightly. Rumi immediately feels a surge of warmth and joy. She had made the right move. Celine was proud.

“In most cases, a harmony is something to be discovered. After all, it is the means by which you learn the rhythm of your soul, and may move in accordance with it. That harmony with the self is what brings out the best in a hunter. That said, it is also…revealing.” Celine recites slowly.

“I…believe that you are old enough to understand some of the ramifications of your own actions and that of your choices, but not old enough to take responsibility for them. This isn’t a negative evaluation of your capabilities, it is the reality of your situation. Simply put, if you truly discover your harmony, it is very likely that others will discover who and what you are.”

Rumi didn’t let the hurt show on her face. She couldn’t. Celine expected her to be poised and mature.

“To be clear, I understand that you are not…” Celine's lips press close together, “...You are a human rumi. A good…human girl, born under unfortunate circumstances. I understand that you harbor no ill will in your heart, nor do you have any ill intentions for your fellow hunters or humanity as a whole. I know you are one of our best, and will continue to be so as you continue your career as a hunter. I understand all of these things to be unquestionably true. Others may not.”

Rumi gulped as Celine’s eyes became frosty with exhaustion and grief.

“There are times when someone has to make a split decision on whether or not to trust someone, and will make the wrong one. There are times when you can make all of the correct moves and still be seen as the enemy. You do not deserve such a fate…but that is the fate that has been handed to you. You bear the mark of one that wishes to feast on humanity and that brand is very likely engraved into your very soul.”

Celine pauses for a moment as she looks over Rumi, evaluating her before shaking her head. “If you were anyone else…I would tell you to simply wait. Don’t think too hard, don’t look too deep. Wait until the hunters turn the honmoon golden and then any lingering issues or concerns could be dealt with. I’d tell you to live a normal quiet life.”

Celine’s lips pressed together, “That was never going to be an option for you, I’m afraid. Whether we like it or not, you are the first of the honmoon’s chosen for this generation, and you are our most talented hunter. We will not be able to make the honmoon golden without your voice and your talents. That is how important you are Rumi. So for the sake of humanity a choice has to be made. Do we delay your growth, ensuring your safety but perhaps damning the souls of millions…or do we take drastic measures, that will ensure your growth for the sake of yourself and those around you?”

Rumi’s chest puffed up, “I am a hunter, and my voice is strong. It is my duty to protect the honmoon, and I will devote every ounce of myself to the task. You can count on me Celine.”

Celine watches her and for a flicker Rumi almost imagines that she sees her guardian deflate. She blinks and Celine is once again the impervious mask of control that she has come to know and respect.

“Very well. In which case I will impart on you the second means by one which may discover a harmony that was revealed to me by a colleague and that I have researched extensively over the last few days.” Celine leaned back in her chair and tapped on the desk with her nail once more, as the honmoon shimmered from her point of contact outward.

“Your harmony is simply an abstract manifestation of the soul's nature. Thus there are two ways to understand this nature. To discover it…or cultivate it.”

Rumi’s brows furrowed, “You mean…create it? But I thought a harmony was something that was already within you? Something that resonates with who you are?”

“That is true. Even so, it is possible to have multiple representations of the self. Difficult but possible. More importantly, it is not your soul that decides the shape of the self. It is the self that creates the melody of the soul. Thus, it is possible for one to shape their harmony from scratch, though it will be far simpler to do so from a template that is already well understood and compatible with one’s own worldview.”

Rumi’s mind raced as she considered the information, “You…you are talking about an inheritance. Taking in someone else's song. Who would I even-” Rumi’s voice catches as her thoughts meet her words at a crossroads.

Celine smiles softly, “Yes. I’m offering my song to you. It…it won’t be the same once you take it. You will have to make it your own…but I believe that is the best course of action going forward.”

Rumi’s mind was split at the fork. On one side, there was her understanding of the situation. Her respect for her mentor. This was an honour she couldn’t even imagine, and it nearly brought her to tears just thinking about it. Getting to carry Celine’s song in her heart was a joy she had not even dreamed of, and now that it was before her, she couldn’t help but feel such gratitude that it nearly flooded her reason.

Yet on the other side, she knew what this meant. Even if Celine did not say it, nothing came for free. If Celine were to impart this song, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t be affected by doing so. There was no guarantee that Rumi would be safe. The long term consequences of this transfer were suspect on their own.

This was the opportunity of a lifetime. She didn’t know what to do.

So she did what she always did when she was lost and confused.

“I trust your judgement Celine. We have a duty to the people of Korea to protect the honmoon.”

Celine closed her eyes and exhaled before placing both hands on the desk, “Very well. Then our course of action is set. I will begin preparations immediately. For now…you are dismissed.”

Rumi nodded curtly before standing, bowing, and leaving the room in the quiet and dignified manner that was taught to her since she was a child. The way that she knew Celine would be proud of.

Behind the door, Celine allows herself a moment of indulgence as she looks at a framed photo of herself, Miyeong and Seo-An at the idol awards. Tears well up in her eyes, pouring gently down her cheeks.

Celine convinced herself that this was just another measure towards that goal. That what she would say was just another sacrifice to be made. One day, Rumi may hate her for this. One day, she may come to Celine and say she was a devil. That she was unreasonable, and unfair.

She will be right.

“I will do whatever it takes to protect our little girl Miyeong. So please forgive me this one time, for doing what it takes to keep my promise to you.”

Chapter Text

Rumi hadn’t been in the Honroom in a very long time. That was the name Zoey had given it when Mira had described the place. It was incredibly reductive, silly, and altogether a confusing name. Rumi refused to refer to it as anything else, at least to herself.

Despite the playful name, the room held a natural gravitas that could not be denied. There was a millennia’s worth of history within these walls, and magic that ran deep like spring water. Today was the day it was being tapped.

Celine had spared no expense for this ritual. The grounds were covered in talismans and hanja arranged in a complex geomantic array around the center of the room. The bed had been moved out to make the most use of the space, covering the empty corners with more talismans and wards. The honmoon on their training grounds hummed.

The honmoon here wailed. It roared, and cried, and sung and screamed so loudly that Rumi wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she could swear she was hearing voices. She wasn’t even trancing, and yet she could feel the presence of the honmoons ancestral will and the divine energy that radiated from it. Air was alive with power, raw and untamed, filling the air like ozone. Rumi was getting dizzy from it, and yet, could not look away from the crisscrossing array of scintillating colors.

To steady herself, she sat at the edge of the ritual circle away from the door, letting the bright red skirt of her hanbok cushion her knees. It had been ages since she’d had to dress up in such traditional attire and longer still since she’d had her hair down for a ritual. It was all so overwhelming.

She trusted Celine. Implicitly.

But that didn’t make change less scary. She didn’t know how this ritual would go. If it went well, she would walk out with her new harmony, and Celine would have her three hunters. If it went poorly-

A cold shiver rolled up her spine. She should know better than to have those thoughts, especially in a place like this. The veil between the mortal realm and the spirit realm was too thin here to let her mind wander. For this ritual to work, she would have to bare her entire soul. This was the worst time to let any part of her fall outside of her control. 

It didn’t take long for Celine to join her. Once she had finished prepping the ritual, she had left Rumi here to get dressed, while she informed Zoey and Mira of what was happening. Or at least, whatever story she decided to share with them. They couldn’t know the whole thing of course.

As she opened the door, Rumi was graced by something she had never seen before: her mentor in full Shinbok regalia.

Her hair had been tied back into a tight bun, and her makeup had made her face pale and angular. Both her jeogori (top) and chima (skirt) were a silky white material that had embroidered images mountains and rivers etched with shimmering blue-green lines with a sky blue po (coat) that hung loosely on her shoulders with iconography of the suns rays coming from the image of the sun on her back. Across her goreum (belt) hung various charms, a small drum, and a pair of fans.

Rumi’s eyes sparkled. She knew intellectually that they were priests, but she had never truly understood what that looked like in practice. She was sure that Celine did not wear this sort of uniform on the stage. She couldn’t. But to see her here, in her full glory was even more awe inspiring than she could have imagined.

Celine looked down at her with a soft smile that settled Rumi’s heart immediately. “Have you prepared yourself?” She asked firmly.

Rumi’s previously slightly slouched posture corrected itself as she looked Celine squarely in the eyes, “A hunter must always be prepared.”

Celine exhaled in what sounded like half of a laugh as she closed the door behind her, “Good answer.”

Stepping forward into the room, Celine kneeled down opposite of Rumi just outside of the circle. “When we begin this ritual, you will feel the experience of my soul. It will be…weighty, but in doing so, you will understand how I forged my song. The magic of the honmoon is no stronger than in this room. Here is your best place to form a deeper connection with it, by your own means.”

Celine looked Rumi in the eyes, “The most important thing for you to know is that my song will be an example…but not the end of your own. Your soul is your own, and even if modeled after mine, you must make it your own. Do you understand?”

Rumi’s heart pounded into her ears, “Yes Celine.”

Celine nodded, “Then let us begin.”

Without further warning, she reached her hand out into the air as strings of starlight and power weaved themselves into existence, overlapping one another at impossible angles. They danced through and within one another in the blink of the eye until it took the form of a brilliant blue wakazashi, with an elegant golden handle. The guard of the blade had a pair of bells hanging off of it slightly. The most striking feature was the blade.

Along its entire length were etchings of the honmoon, radiant and rippling. It felt like the honmoon but also separate. Like it was something unique, insular. Just by closing her eyes, she could hear the song that resonated from it.

Devotion.

Compassion.

Determination.

Discipline.

Duty.

Duty Above All

Rumi’s eyes shot open as she heard its name.

“This sword is my Mugu, my ritual instrument. It is the union of my soul, my song, and the honmoon, carrying not only the wisdom that I have crystalized from our ancestors, but my own knowledge as well. It is in many ways one of the purest representations of myself as a hunter, and the legacy that I have created for myself.”

Rumi’s mouth suddenly felt dry looking at it. 

Celine flipped the weapon by its hilt and then expertly grabbed the blade out of the air, slowly lowering the handle to Rumi. The bells on the sides of the bladed chimed in the air, causing the honmoon to momentarily alight around them.

“Take the blade, and then plunge it into the center of the ritual circle. It will be your focus through which the wisdom of our ancestors will be conveyed to you, and you will convey the essence of your soul.”

Rumi hesitated. She knows what her duty is. She knows this is her best shot. But it suddenly felt like so much. She gulped.

Celine’s eyes softened as she murmured, “I believe in you, plum. Make me proud.”

Rumi’s eyes turned misty for a moment before she wiped them with her hand and then bowed to Celine, “This student understands and will complete her duty.”

And then without another moment’s hesitation, she takes the blade and plunges it into the center of the ritual circle.

Several things immediately happen at once.

The blade plunges into the circle, but not into the ground, as the weapon of starlight sinks directly into the honmoon, letting out a warm trill.

The ritual circle erupts with light and color as the final component is added and the symbols rush towards the blade as if they were being sucked into a whirlpool.

These symbols also carry the honmoon along with them, pulling them directly into the blade, being filtered and contained by it, before they reach their end.

The entire room vibrates with light and color as a living soul taps into the honmoon correctly.

The honmoon in the room begins to bleed pink in between shocks of blue.

Rumi had no time to focus on any of these things in particular as her mind was dragged into the undercurrent of the honmoon, as her thoughts were drowned in the sea of eternity. Song after memory after enlightenment after hymn after rite after song played through her mind in a spiral of magic and majesty far too grand for her mind to ever hope to comprehend.

But she didn’t need to comprehend it all. The blade in her hands cut down the tide to only memories and thoughts that could be contained within its dogma. Through its harmony, the blade separated the finite from infinity and gave meaning to complexity. Thoughts became more than just memories. They were lessons. Tools. As each struck at her soul, she could feel herself being molded and changed.

Into what was ultimately up to her.

Celine watched the honmoon swirl around Rumi like it was alive and breathing with a tight expression. She had put as many safeguards as she could without harming her progress. There was nothing left for Celine to do at this point other than be a representative. Still, she couldn’t sit by and let the girl get overwhelmed.

“Rumi. We are mudang. This power is spiritual. When we want to entreat with spirits, what do we do?” She recited as calmly as she could.

Even in the haze of chaos that was her mind, Celine’s words cut through like a blade slicing through water. Rumi caught on almost immediately. Her spirit was being tested, but it wasn’t simply a battle of wills. In fact, it wasn’t truly a battle at all.

It was a dance.

And the dance needed music.

It needed a song.

It took too much effort to open her mouth. She felt like her head was being pressed into a vice and she was pushing back against it with jaw strength alone. But she had been taught to sing since she could speak. It wasn’t a task, it was second nature. So she sang, quiet and weak at first.

I'll define my truth now

Its time for me to prove just who I am…

She gritted her teeth as her lung pressed against the spiritual pressure, dragging out the next verses. The one note became many as her voice guided the movement of her soul and the spiritual essence around her.

The best of what I came from

Not patterns I'm ashamed of!

A legacy that I must understand.

Rumi pushed her head up to look Celine in the eyes. To show her who she wanted to become.

I'm gonna fix it, I'm gonna fight it

My heart uplifted, my soul ignited

My nature: defiant

So no one can question whether I'm on your side…

Celine’s face was struck with horror at the final verse even as Rumi’s patterns burned under her skin. She ignored them. This was her chance to finally prove herself and she refused to waste it. Refused to be a disappointment. Refused to be anything less than what her family deserved.

My song is broken into pieces, but it will grow back

My destiny's complete, no shards of broken glass

This is the start of me, no dark, just harmony

My voice is mine to find, and this is what it sounds like

Each word carried the weight of her entire self behind it, and grew stronger by the second. She had stopped focusing on anything besides the song. The bindings on her soul that she had kept for years unwound as she finally let herself go, just for a moment.

As her emotions began to surge along with her voice, her mind drifted to her loved ones. Celine was here, and watching her with tears in her eyes. Whether they be of joy or dread, Rumi wouldn’t know.

Then of course her mind wandered to Zoey and Mira. This wasn’t just for her. This song was for all of them.

My song will capture all colors stuck inside her head!

People might overlook her for being bubbly and silly, but Rumi could see her brilliance and would do everything she could to make sure that others did too.

No jagged edges, I'll reveal her light instead!

Mira was loud, blunt, and aggressive. She was also one of the kindest and most caring people Rumi could hope to meet. She deserved to be seen as a beauty, not a brute.

Conceal what's underneath, protect their harmony.

My song is mine to write, and this is what it sounds like.

Rumi’s song would be one that overwhelmed criticism, and conceal their faults. She would make sure that people only saw the best of her and those around her. That they never had to worry about hiding themselves like she did. She would be their guardian. Her song would protect their hearts.

I'm conquering the silence, sever my reliance

In this symphony I'm writing, I'm in control

I will defeat the demons, I'll seal the threat of Gwi-ma

Become the greatest hunter that's ever known!

Rumi didn’t realise when she started smiling, but she could feel it on her face, wider than it ever had been. Even as she was sweating with concentration, with each second she could feel the pressure become weaker as she pushed against it. She slowly began to rise, as the note that she held for years began to bloom into something more beautiful.

Won't be a coward, I'm not a liar

I am a hero, a born survivor

A leader, a fighter, my song will inspire

Make souls ignite like a fire, and shine like stars in the SKY!

As she cried out the last line, her voice echoed through the honmoon, causing it to light up in waves. Rumi feels laughter bubbling up in her as she feels…powerful. Alive. Free.

My song may be in pieces, but I'm more than that

Our destiny's beginning, our souls will unite at last

This is the start of me, my golden harmony

My voice is mine to find, and this is what it sounds like

She wouldn’t be a monster. She would be the best. No-

Our song will capture all the colors stuck inside their heads

No jagged edges, their dark will meet the light instead

We'll seal what's underneath, unleash our harmony

This song is ours to write, and this is what it sounds like

They would all be. This generation would be the hunters that made the honmoon golden. They would seal Gwi-ma and finally fulfill the ultimate duty of all hunters. 

There was no other option. It was the only way.

So she’d make it happen. No flaws. No mistakes. If she only had one moment to choose what she was going to be, she knew there was only one answer.

My voice is mine to find, and this is what it sounds like.

Her head no longer felt like it was being crushed. In fact it felt lighter than it had in years.

My song is mine to write, and this is what it sounds like.

Her patterns that burned under her skin dimmed as the demon within was crushed under the weight of her will, forged through the honmoon.

A Symphony so divine, it echoes throughout time.

The pink of the honmoon was washed out like the tide as wave after wave of light rippled out from Rumi. Rumi stood up to her full height, eyes bright with determination as she met Celine’s gaze. 

Perfection will be mine, and this is what it sounds like!

With her final declaration, her song cascaded outward in waves of blue and silver. The honmoon around them became so bright it was almost blinding.

Rumi felt something take shape within her that was more than a simple chime or a whisper. It was like an entire orchestra raging in her chest, bright and shimmering, beautiful and overwhelming, playing something that could only be described as an -

Immaculate Golden Symphony

Rumi had never felt so full. So alive. So excited. So tired. Oh wait, why was the room spinning?

Before she could collapse, Celine caught her gently and pulled Rumi’s head down into her lap.

“Did I…do good?”

Celine looked down at Rumi’s tired face covered with sweat. She then looked at the portion of the honmoon that still danced around her head even now, as the remnants of her song echoed out. 

It was golden.

Celine’s tears fell in a stream unlike Rumi had ever seen before as she did her best to smile and stroke the girl's hair, “You did perfect. Now rest.”

Rumi, ever the obedient student, smiled, and immediately passed out.

Chapter Text

As soon as Rumi agreed, Celine got to work. She had been researching how heartsongs, harmonies, and other manifestations of the self had been learned throughout the centuries by different hunter groups, and the struggles they had found. She’d also been researching means by which someone could commune with the honmoon.

It helped that she already had a lot of research on demonic suppression using the honmoon. It was hard not to think about the why, but she managed. She just needed to manage.

After a week or so, she’d finally found a way to build an array that would temporarily allow one to enter a much deeper trance than a mudang would normally experience. It’d be risky, but doing so almost always pushed a mudang into some sort of spiritual revelation or awakening. Moreover, if she used her own harmony as a buffer and filter for Rumi, it would be significantly safer. It just meant she’d be putting part of her soul on the line. 

Wouldn’t have been the first time. 

Rumi shouldn’t have to be putting herself on the line, even if she was willing to do so. She was a child. Celine was already forcing an unreasonable amount of expectations on each of these children. It was only right that she put something on the line as well.

With the preparation complete within their ritual space, runes carved, and array established, it was time to move onto the next phase of the plan: keep the girls from doing something crazy.

After Celine sent Rumi to the room to prepare, she made sure to find Mira and Zoey again. There was a high chance that the honmoon would behave erratically during this ceremony and it wouldn’t be in their best interest if she didn’t at least alert them of the possibilities. More importantly, they were Rumi’s….

She was going to do herself a favor and think of them as Rumi’s friends for now. She doubted that’s how it would remain, given their shared…interest. Still, she knew better than anyone how dense a woman could be.

Celine resolved to be kinder about it than her predecessors were. Which is why she had the patience of mind not to say anything when she found the two girls kneeling in front of her in the hallway.

Celine looked to the girls, who each had one fist on the ground, and had their heads down. The girls stayed still, and looked visibly shaken.

Celine cleared her throat, “Girls, I have something to-”

“Don’t worry Celine, we already know.” Mira said solemnly, with Zoey nodding along.

Celine’s brow quirked as her mind raced through solutions. How did they learn about Rumi’s patterns? Why were they in this position? Did they think she was going to execute them? Or did they come here to-

“We promise to take responsibility and make Rumi a woman without deceit” Said zoey in a string of korean that was so confusing that Celine couldn’t even overthink about it.

“Take…responsibility? What…do you think I’m…” She rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Girls, what is this about?”

Mira looked at Zoey who frowned andthen looked up to Celine, “We figured you were coming to scold us about um…what happened with…Rumi.” Mira elbowed Zoey, “Rumi-nim!”

Mira followed soon after, “We figured that you wouldn’t want us to take something like that lightly so we both resolved ourselves.”

Both of the girls were getting redder by the second. Celine only felt more confused. “Resolved yourself to what?”

“To make a not deceitful woman out of her!” Zoey said with eyes sparkling with determination. 

Mira nodded at her side.

Celine’s head was reeling for a moment, before she furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes. 

“Zoey. Say what you just said, but in english this time.” Celine exhaled slowly.

“Oh uh…okay.” Zoey cleared her throat and tried to look as sincere as possible, “Celine, we promise to make an honest woman out of your daughter!”

Celine put her hands over her face for a second just to rub her eyes. She did not have the time to explain all of why this was ridiculous.

“That’s what I thought. Alright, first of all.” Celine squatted down to meet the girls at eye level, “You didn’t do anything that needed resolving. You were just being kids. I trust Rumi to make good decisions, and I trust you both to look out for her. That’s why you are a team.”

The girls nod eagerly at her words, desperate to show that they were serious about their positions.

“Second of all-” Celine flicks them both in the forehead with a little bit of the honmoon, causing both girls to fall onto their asses, “-You are ten years too early to be talking about making an honest woman out of anyone. Either of you. In the future many people will be watching every word you say, so I would advise you to be more careful with your language, especially if you don’t understand the full context of what you are saying. Am I understood?”

Both of the girls groaned while holding their foreheads, “Yes Celine…”

Celine stood back up and rolled her eyes, “I came here to inform you both that Rumi will be undergoing a special trial to unlock her harmony. There will be fluctuations in the honmoon, and this could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to complete. I don’t want you to be alarmed when this happens.”

Mira rubbed her forehead, “Is this going to help fix her illness?”

Celine raised an eyebrow, “What makes you think that?”

Zoey and Mira pointedly don’t look at each other this time, “No reasons” Mira covers and looks away.

“It’s just..whenever Rumi is feeling bad she goes down to the honroom. And we heard you coming up the stairs so…” Zoey finished the thought.

Celine looks over the two girls. Part of her wishes she could simply tell them. Trust them with the information like she trusts them with the fate of the world.

But somewhere deep inside know that if it came down to it, the world had hurt her many times. Rumi hadn’t. She would choose that girl over the world anytime.

The girls didn’t need to know that though.

“We’ll see.” Is all she says before she goes to her room to prepare for the ritual itself.

Nothing could have prepared her for the nature of Rumi’s song.

No amount of preparation existed to brace her against the idea that Rumi felt like she had to prove she was on their side.

That her song was broken and needed to be fixed.

She couldn’t keep the pain off of her face when she heard that. Not only because of what it meant for Rumi. 

She was too much like her mother sometimes. Both her and Miyeong took on the pressure of the world with a smile while their hearts cracked. Even as she watched Rumi wield the very blade that killed her mother, the same one that had protected her all those years ago, she couldn’t help but feel Miyeong's song on her daughter's lips.

Miyeong was a Flawless Idol.

Rumi was the Perfect Hunter.

It wasn’t that she didn’t feel proud of her. Her heart was full to bursting at seeing Rumi define her own fate. To see her come into her own after years of keeping herself hidden. To become more of the woman that Celine knew she would be.

She took on the entire honmoon and was coming out on top. Her voice was getting stronger. Her heart, more assured. Her Rumi would be the greatest hunter this world had ever seen.

Celine wishes that she didn’t have to. She desperately wishes there was another option. Some small part of her wishes this ritual would fail so that she could have an excuse to hide Rumi away for longer.

Then she sees gold.

Not permanent, not all consuming but as Rumi’s song blooms from a single note into an entire symphony like a flower unfurling in the spring sun, the honmoon alights. For a brief moment, the world is in tune, and Rumi is its conductor, and the sound that the honmoon produces can only be described as perfect. For one single second, her voice is something that even the gods would covet, and that makes the underworld tremble.

For one moment, Rumi makes the honmoon around her golden.

In that moment, Celine knows that there is no other destiny for her. Despite all of the fear in her heart, she can see the life that Rumi has chosen, and can see that it has chosen her as well. 

Rumi was a hunter.

Rumi was a fighter.

Rumi was going to make the honmoon golden.

Or she was going to die trying.

Celine wasn’t happy about it. But her happiness had never been the goal. Rumi’s success and safety were worth more than a single moment of joy she could have.

She told herself that over and over as she cradled the teen in her arms and pulled her head over her shoulder, smoothing out her braid. Kept her anxieties and complaints and nightmares buried.

Her faults and fears would not be Rumi’s weakness. She would not undermine the girl’s determination by faltering.

The set had been completed. There was no going back now.

All Celine could do was make sure that her girls were a step ahead.

Chapter Text

Rumi awoke on the bed in the honroom feeling more rested than she had…well ever. Her body felt light as a feather, no longer constantly being forced against the resistance of the honmoon. No longer did she have to constantly keep control over her soul. Now, her soul kept itself in check, moving to the rhythm of her symphony.

She was perfect. She was in control. She was unstoppable. Beautiful. Golden.

On the nightstand by her bed was a glass of water which she downed eagerly. Her connection to the honmoon had always been a strange one, more potent than others, but far more dangerous and complex. Now, it felt like she was finally in tune. Even if she didn’t necessarily feel whole, she felt…human. That alone almost brought her to tears.

Celine came to join her soon, and checked her vitals. She was more stoic than usual, and Rumi  could see the sweat on her brow. She always did so much.

After making sure she was alright, Celine gave her an earnest smile, “Congratulations plum. You have managed the improbable and crafted your own harmony. As the last one to do so, your generation is now set, and have officially stepped into the realm of hunters properly.” 

Her stern voice melts away for a moment as she reaches her arms out and presses Rumi’s head into her chest, “I am…so proud of you.”

Rumi feels her heart tremble in her chest and her entire body warm in a way that she never let herself experience as she nuzzled into Celine’s touch, “Thank you Celine. I owe it all to you and your tutelage.”

Celine let out a low chuckle, as if Rumi were in on a secret before letting her go, “In so, so many ways, you remind me of your mother. Come now, lets get you dressed again so you can practice.” Celeine steps up as Rumi thinks about what practice means.

Which brings her mind to Zoey and Mira.

Which brings her mind to a lot of things she’s never been able to fully feel in her almost seventeen years of life.

Rumi clutches at the blanket as she feels her face warm up for an entirely different reason than before, even as a smile spreads across her face.

“Hey, um…Celine?” Rumi chokes out.

Celine pauses her step as she turns away from the door, “Yes Rumi?”

“...Since I got my harmony…which was really hard by the way…can I ask for a favor?”

Celine raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. It was rare for Rumi to ask for anything. She either ignored it or simply took it. She was too much like her mother sometimes. “I’m listening.”

Rumi looked to the night stand and then to the covers, “Can uh…can you maybe do my makeup…and let me borrow some of your jewelry?”

This time both eyebrows go up, before the thought clicks in her mind and she sighs, “...Remember we have dinner at eight and I expect you all to show up…without any visible marks. Understood?”

Rumi wasn’t entirely sure why she needed to be reminded of that, but if it got Celine's help, she was happy to nod along, “Yes Celine!”

Celine looked up to the ceiling and shook her head, “You are going to be the death of those girls.”

Mira and Zoey had been waiting hours. The honmoon had flared up multiple times at first, shimmering between pink, and blue before igniting gold in one fleeting and brilliant moment. Then it had settled, almost unnervingly so. It had been quiet. Far too quiet.

Celine had told them it would be fine and that they should go about their day as normal. Do your chores. Do your training. Practice spars. Vocals. Everything was under control.

Yes the honmoon looks like its exploding, but everything is under control.

The pair had been trying not to panic. Well Zoey had been panicking externally and Mira had been panicking internally. After all, the only times Rumi went to the honroom is when she was sick. Something about her harmony made Rumi sick. Would she survive? Was she going to have to have some sort of surgery? Would she be safe? Mira trusted Celine more than her own family, but she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. Still, she didn’t have the vocabulary to voice the complexity of these concerns.

Zoey had no such issue.

“Why isn’t she out yet? The fireworks are done and we heard a song, a bit of a song, it was more of a song than she had before but why isn’t she out! Did she die? Was it demons? Did they find her? Did Celine fail her and now she’s going to be an orphan again? Did we fail her? Was it a failure because we weren’t there? I knew we should have begged to go with her, I knew as soon as I saw her walk away, I knew it, but I didn’t go. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid-” Zoey chewed on the end of her thumbnail as she paced back and forth outside of the battle field.

Mira waved her hand from the restrock, “Z, you are just making it worse. It’s fine. She’s fine.” She’s got to be fine. It’s Rumi. She’s always fine. She can do anything.

Both Zoey and Mira were very deep into their own minds, that they could be forgiven for not noticing her sooner. Except, they had been trained for months now to detect anyone sneaking up on them, from just about any angle.

They didn’t notice her until the flash of purple was already in their field of view, standing between them, humming a tune to herself without a care in the world.

Rumi looked like a dream that had stepped into reality.

Her long violet hair flowed gently in the breeze, allowed to hang down without her braid for the first time in what felt like ages. She was wearing a strapless white sundress, with gold bangles on her wrists. She stepped through the verdant grass barefoot, moving surefooted and without care as she turned around to face the both of them with her back to the barrier, and her arms behind her back as she slowly slid between the boundary.

“My turn~.” She hummed, looking at the pair through her eyelashes as she gave them a wink and a smile that rode the line between inviting and devastating all at once. Without giving them any more notice or explanation, she turned her back on them and began walking out into the center of their battlefield.

Mira felt her brain reset several times, as she went over the moment over and over in her head.

Zoey’s jaw was hitting the floor and her eyes wide as saucers at the display.

Both of them had fully lost higher brain functions until they heard her voice again.

“I’m waiting~” She murmured from far away, and yet her voice carried into their ears with ease. The statement jumpstarted both of their brains as they looked at each other, and then scrambled into the battle field as quickly as possible.

Both of them sprinted to be in speaking range of her, only slowing down once they were within 5 meters of her. 

Their minds were a jumble. Rumi was in a dress. Rumi almost never wore dresses. 

They aren’t practical. She’d say.

She was wearing jewelry. An unnecessary hindrance.

Ruminator. Ruthless. Their Rumi.

She tucked a hair behind her ear as she placed her other hand over her lips, barely masking a coquettish smile.

“Come on. You both know I don’t bite.” She giggled. She fucking giggled

Zoey was about to lose her entire mind.

“Didn’t you just go through a…some ritual? Are you sure you should be out here? What’s with the dress? Did you do your makeup??? Since when do you care about makeup!! Why couldn’t I do your makeup?” Zoey badgered.

Mira on the other hand, felt herself pinned down by Rumi’s eyes. Her heart was beating louder than her thoughts, and her mouth suddenly felt dry, and her legs heavy. “What…what are you doing…Ru…Rumi.” The name felt wrong on her tongue. It wasn’t enough to describe what she was looking at. She didn’t know if there were enough words in the Korean language to describe what she was feeling at that moment.

Rumi looked back and forth and clicked her tongue, “Tsk Tsk Tsk. Ladies, this is a battlefield. You can’t let your guard down over something like this. Aren’t you both supposed to be leading?” She scolded gently, with a soft voice and softer gaze.

Rumi sighed dramatically as she held up her left hand into the air, “I suppose you girls are in need of some more practice. Don’t worry. Unnie is here to show you how its done.”

Then she snaps and the world comes alive. The sound of trumpets and cellos echo out from her soul into the honmoon, rippling out from her body in crashing waves against their souls. Rumi smiles, not wide like a demon, but with an assured confidence that had always been in her voice, but never in her eyes. That and a twinkle of something more…mischevous.

The girls startle into combat readiness, each ready to call upon their songs, but Rumi had already moved. In a flicker of motion she was in front of Mira. Mira raised up their fist to strike, only to have her arm grabbed, and held out, while Rumi’s other hand held Mira gently by the waist. All plans immediately vacated her mind as Rumi’s eyes met her own.

Now step, step and turn

Baby it's time to lead~

Rumi took two confident steps with Mira in her hands, forced to follow, before twirling the girl outward to their third. Mira dizzily staggers next to Zoey who has frozen up looking between the two of them with a mixture of open desire and disbelief. 

She doesn’t have much time to gawk however, as Rumi is once again standing just in front of them with her hands softly on both of their cheeks. Both girls are pulled to attention as her fingers gently slide down to their jaws before she drags her nails under their chins. Forced to look at how red the other was and witness her control as she sang.

Let go of your nerves

Or lose stability!

This is all she needs to say in order to push them by their chests, sending the trained hunters tumbling onto their asses as they looked up at her. She took a few slow and deliberate steps back, leaning over just enough to tease the mind as she crooked one of her fingers to the pair to follow her.

Both of them scrambled to their feet to follow her up. Zoey is on top of her first, throwing out jabs that transition into kicks, that transition into palm strikes as a continuous flow of movement.

Come closer, closer~

Pull me into your tempo - SWING!

Rumi parries each strike that attempts to move into the next, not stopping Zoey’s rhythm but commanding it. Each twist is graceful, each redirection effortless, and the flow of her dress makes it all look like an elaborate show that Zoey can’t help but be enthralled by.

Mira attempts to follow up with a pincer from the other side, throwing out powerful jabs and hooks, trying to knock Rumi off of her feet. Each strike is empowered by the honmoon to push her from combatant to a flurry of fists.

A rhythm made only for me and you-

Jump and jab at me!~

Rumi dodges Mira’s strikes like she has eyes on the back of her head, ducking and stepping in and out of her range while redirecting Zoey’s strikes to every so often interrupt Mira’s. Without noticing, the pair find their combination being used against one another, as Mira’s powerful strikes will disrupt Zoey’s flow, and Zoey’s continuous strikes leave less room for Mira to attack.

Rumi turned her gaze from Zoey to Mira one at a time as she deftly maneuvered between their moves without breaking a sweat, her body moving to an all consuming rhythm. All the while sneaking in soft touches.

Fingers slipping past Mira’s hips as she tilts away from a strike.

Nails digging into the side of Zoey’s legs through her sweatpants with a toothy grin.

Neither of them had any attention to spare for one another. They only had Rumi in their eyes.

Look through my eyes, into my heart

Don't go til you've got a hold of it

Rumi’s song rose in volume, beating against their own hearts like a drum, souls flickering to life. They both had to give it their all just to keep her occupied on their own sides. Then she smiled, eyes alight with chaos as she leaned into Zoey’s space as she was going for a spear handed jab, grabbing her by her wrist and, and grabbing her shirt by the collar bringing their faces inches away from one another. 

Now make your move,

Zoey yelps and stills as Rumi turns their bodies so that Mira’s next jab would impact Zoey’s body if she didn’t stop. She hesitates for a moment, which is all Rumi needs to spin Zoey one good time before launching her at Mira. Mira just barely catches her as the full weight of Zoey hits her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her for just a second. 

No time for hesitation~

More importantly, it blocks her field of vision for a moment. In one moment Rum is in front of her. In the next she’s gone. That is until Mira notices a shadow over her and Zoey as Mira quickly looks up to see Rumi in the air, twisting down towards them before falling into an Axe kick.

Which left the underside of her skirt exposed. Not for long. But long enough that Mira’s face goes red as she instinctually looks away, only to remember, oh right, she is about to get kicked in the-

Rumi’s foot comes crashing down on the both of them hard enough to make them see stars, even with the honmoon protecting them. 

Just to hit the ground again~

Rumi says jumping back daintily, and bouncing from foot to foot. Her smile was as infectious as her rhythm. Even getting their asses kicked, both Mira and Zoey couldn’t bring themselves to be mad at Rumi. 

“Mira. Mira I’m too weak. I can’t do this.” Zoey whined.

“Zoey, do you think I’m doing much better?” Mira groaned from under her, pushing the girl off. 

Rumi let out a low hum as she watched the pair untangle themselves from one another, “Well it seems like that’s that. I hoped you all found that exchange…educational. Think of it as a gift from your new leader, okay?” Rumi leaned down to gently pat Mira’s cheek while she winked at Zoey before she stood up.

“Do you both want to keep practicing?” Rumi suggested with her velvety soft voice that wrapped around their minds like a soft blanket.

Mira’s spine felt out of alignment, her chest was bruised and she’s pretty sure she had a concussion.

Zoey’s arms felt like burning noodles, her lungs felt like they were full of spikes, and she was definitely seeing double.

They really should rest.

But Rumi was offering them more of whatever this was. 

There was no guarantee they’d ever get this again. Even if they did-

Mira and Zoey looked at each other in solidarity for a moment before looking back to Rumi.

“Yes, yes, yes, triple yes, ultimate yes-” Zoey exclaimed

“Y-yeah I could go for seconds- I mean a second- I mean like another round- Like-” Mira fumbled

Rumi’s eyes were aglow with fondness, the same brilliant warmth she had kept hidden in the pits of her heart for years, now finally getting its chance out into the light. Perhaps a flash in the pan, but for this short moment, Mira and Zoey couldn’t imagine a more beautiful star.

“That’s my girls.” Rumi said with an airy laugh that got them both to swallow against nothing.

Oh they were so fucked.

Chapter Text

After that day, things had returned to normal, with one exception.

Rumi was driving them insane.

During lectures, she smiled and answered questions with an animated eagerness. During spars, she made jokes and laughed at them. At dinner, she offered to help, and gave loving smiles across the table. It was like seeing a girl who lived in black and white suddenly shift into high definition color.

It was beautiful. It was overwhelming. It was terrifying.

“My money is on being possessed by the honmoon. I think she accidentally drank too deep and now is being piloted by hundreds of ghosts that are here to torment us into being the ultimate warriors.” Zoey murmured to Mira in the dead of night. Everyone tended to go to sleep around eleven, and it was dark, but the girls had memorized the routes to each other's rooms by now and could do it in their sleep. Sometimes they still did it in their sleep.

“What, you think Rumi would let herself be possessed? No, I think something about her harmony removed the rod that has been stuck in her ass the whole time, and now she's just adjusting. Probably using us to practice her aegyo or something. I’m sure she’ll go back to being the ruthless we know.” Mira reassured.

“What?! What would you want th-?” Zoey almost yelled before Mira quickly put her hands over Zoey’s mouth.

“Why wouldn’t you? Rumi was perfect. She didn’t need to change, she was helpful, and smart, and reasonable, and the best of us. Why would you want her to stay…like this?” Mira grumbled.

“Uh, because she’s happy? And having fun? And being herself for once instead of what we ask her to be! Mira, she asked me about peanut-butter jelly time. Mira. Mira, are you going to take PBJT from her?” Zoey glared defiantly.

“Zoey this isn’t Rumi. You know that. Weren’t you just talking about her being possessed by ghosts? What do you want her to be possessed?” Mira growled

“No! But if that makes her happy, then fine! Let her be all ghosted up!” Zoey grumbled, pushing her away.

Mira refused to back down and pushed zoey in return, “So you are willing to lose our best friend if life’s a bit easier huh? You are willing to let it all go, and let everything change just because she LOOKS happier. People fake it all the time! If she wants to BS it for a bit, whatever, but I for one am going to welcome back the REAL Rumi with open arms.”

“UGH Mira, haven’t you considered that this IS the real Rumi? That maybe the one you’ve seen so far is the fake one and she is FINALLY showing herself to us? Or are you too scared to admit that maybe you DON’T know people as well as you THINK you do!!!”

Both of them stood there huffing glaring at each other in the dark, the room lit only by a dim lamp.

“Fuck you zoey, and the high horse you’re riding.” Mira growled, opening up the door to leave.

“Go fuck yourself Mira, I’m right and you know it.” Zoey hissed back, fed up and exhausted all at once.

Mira didn’t slam the door, but the silence didn’t feel better. The pair found themselves back in their separate beds. Neither was able to sleep. Two thoughts warred in their minds.

Rumi deserves better.

I probably shouldn’t have said that though.

Rumi woke up the next day bright and early, excited to get to work, her song still playing without end or rest.

Excited. She was getting used to that feeling. She liked it. She liked being excited, and happy, and the euphoria of a job well done. 

That feeling immediately cascaded into embarrassment when she remembered the events of the previous day. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to flaunt in front of Zoey and Mira but it felt…well she didn’t have a word for what it felt like. Warm. Powerful. Special.

She didn’t know what they were but she wanted them to be that for as long as possible. Of course, telling them that would have to wait until after they turned the honmoon golden…but it wasn’t like she was doing anything particularly incriminating. It had just been another spar. 

Sure there had been some explorative touching, but they needed to get used to feeling one another, because of dancing.

Sure there were a lot of feelings there, but they had to make their performances realistic. So obviously they had to practice replicating the feelings they wanted to evoke. It didn’t have to be anything deeper than that for now.

They existed for the people. For the honmoon. What they were in the shadows…no one needed to think about that. It wasn’t important.

Something in her heart ached for a moment before her song brightened in response, aligning with her thoughts. She smiled again, knowing that her harmony was one that was so useful to their cause. That she could be more useful to their cause. To her family.

Her family that seemed determined to cause itself as much trouble as possible. Rumi came down for breakfast dressed in her white hoodie and grey sweatpants, only to find Zoey and Mira pretending not to be mad at eachother. 

Mira was eating silently but her jaw was overly clenched the entire time. Zoey had a blank face, which meant she was probably dissociating. They were both very good at pretending to be okay.

Rumi looked over at Celine. Celine raised an eyebrow at Rumi. Rumi shrugged and shook her head. Celine squinted for a moment before her eyes flicked between the two girls and then looked back to Rumi. She then rolled her eyes and spoke up, “Oh Rumi, glad to see you are awake.”

Rumi tilted her head. Celine didn’t normally announce-

Instantly the two girls heads whipped towards her with a smile, 

“Rumi! Sit by me!” They both exclaimed before glaring at each other.

“You? She doesn’t want to sit by you.” They growled in sync

“What? It’s not like you are better.” By this point Rumi was just amazed. Celine looked more tired. Rumi didn’t like that, even if these two were being funny.

“I think I’ll just sit opposite of Celine, thanks.” She said, pulling up her chair on the other side of the table as Celine got up to bring Rumi another plate of eggs and rice. 

Rumi watched them both curiously, “So are we not going talk about it?”

“It’s nothing-” They both say at once before glaring at each other again and then down at their plates.

Rumi rolls her eyes and sighs. Seems like this was going to be another long day.

That afternoon, Celine gathered the three girls up to the training field. Mira and Zoey were still not talking, though both of them seemed eager to cling to Rumi. 

This is getting exhausting. Rumi thought to herself. She had hoped Celine would say something, but the woman seemed determined to stay out of it. Which meant it was a problem for them to fix.

Which meant it was a problem for Rumi to fix because Mira and Zoey seemed perfectly content with whatever is going on.

Celine cleared her throat, “Congratulations to all of you for discovering your Harmonies. You have made a large step towards inheriting the title of hunters.” Celine gestured to the field, “We are stewards of the honmoon and are expected to commune with it. How we do so is unique to each person, and learning what concepts and ideals align with who you are is critical in not only your own mastery of the powers bestowed by the honmoon, but for your ability to truly express yourself through it.”

“Be it your music, your fashion, your political alignments, or more, your harmony is your guiding compass that points you towards who you are and want to be. When in doubt, listen to your heartsong, and you will find a way out. When others hear your song, be it through the art you create, or the actions you perform, they should know who they are dealing with someone whom they shall not trifle with.”

“That all said, your harmonies are not only to your psychological or spiritual benefit. Now that you have identified your natures, it is now appropriate to begin teaching you more advanced techniques that can be done with the honmoon. While it was possible for you to learn earlier, without your harmonies guiding your power, it would have been far more difficult. I do know that didn’t stop some of you from trying.” Celine gives Zoey and Rumi a quick glance before continuing her speech.

“There are three advanced techniques that you will need to master, all of which involve manipulating the honmoon outside of your body: Commune, Conceal, and Construct. Now pay close attention girls.”

“Commune is the ability to speak and detect through the honmoon. It goes beyond a simple trance, able to communicate complex ideas swiftly without the need of words, and identify the position of those who open themselves up to you. It will also let you detect the position of demons far quicker than your natural senses could.” Celine does not speak, or use her mouth. Instead, there is a brief pulse of the honmoon as the IDEA of these sentences rings true in their mind, perfectly stated without room for confusion.

“Second-” She says openly as she walks forward, “is Conceal. What we do confuses the masses, and thus, we must conceal it from them. This does not actually make you invisible. Instead, it makes you appear unimportant, or makes remembering or noticing details much more difficult for those who cannot command their spirits. This way, even if you slay a demon right behind someone, they will not remember its voice, and even if they see one, they may regard it as simply a costumed creature or computer generated images rather than what it truly is.”

All three girls blinked as they realised they didn’t know where Celine was speaking from until they managed to find that she had walked back to the spot she had started. They just…hadn’t noticed.

“And finally, there is Construct. While similar to empower, it involves making more substantial items or forces from the honmoon, either by unleashing waves of kinetic force, creating shields that can block impending damage from wide area attacks, and most importantly- ”

Celine flicked out her hand as the honmoon came to life around it. It flickered with starlight woven into celestial steel that coiled up her arm as a chain. In her hand she held a crescent moon attached to a golden handle that shimmered and glittered in the sun, connected to a chain that hung over her shoulders like a raiment of war. It danced up and over her shoulders, floating in the air as if weightless before coiling down her other arm and ending with a weighted dagger that rested easy in her other hand.

“-forging your weapons. A Hunter’s weapon is special and sacred to them, and in turn represents how you seek to carry out your divine task. It will take time to discover what weapon is right for you. This is-”

Zoey raised her hand.

“-...Yes Zoey?”

“Can I make a gun?” Zoey asked excitedly

Celine raised an eyebrow and smirked, “You can certainly try.”

Mira, even as she continued to try and look angry, couldn’t help but snort at that, her smile betraying her.

Zoey in turn, couldn’t help but look back at Mira with a wide smile, eager to make her best friend laugh.

They both locked eyes and somehow agreed that no, they should go back to brooding.

Is this what I looked like? There is no way this is how I acted. I’m sure I was much more reasonable.

Celine continued as if nothing else happened, “You all are expected to learn these skills before the year is out. Some of these skills will come easier. Some will be harder. The most important thing to remember is that you are all stronger together.” Celine looks to each of them, “You are not three separate warriors. You are hunters. You are a team. Your songs call out to one another and are meant to harmonize with eachother. Each of you has something unique and powerful to offer your generation and none of you is truly whole without the other two.”

Celine folds her hands behind her back and stares at them sternly, “You three are your greatest power. You three are your greatest support. Your saviors, and heroes. So no matter what happens, remember that you work together. No matter the differences, you three are a team. Am I understood?”

Zoey and Mira looked off in different directions murmuring. Rumi rolled her eyes. 

“Alright I’ve had about enough of this.” Rumi groans as she grabs Mira and Zoey’s hands. 

Both girls freeze up and faintly flush as she drags them closer, “We understand Celine. Right girls?”

Rumi’s voice was bright and happy. Unfortunately her eyes were that familiar empty stare that they had come to know and fear.

Rumi was gone. Ruthless was talking.

“Yes Celine!” Both of the girls said immediately as Rumi turned to her mentor, looking proud.

Celine’s mouth fell open slightly. She had to cover it with her hand and cleared her throat a few times in a way that someone else may have mistaken for chuckles.

“I’m glad my point is made. From now on, your training will only get more intense. I expect the best out of you girls, and I know you will reach my expectations.”

This time, both Mira and Zoey looked to Rumi and then to one another. In a moment, naturally, the pair were able to communicate everything they needed to through their connection, as the honmoon acted as a bridge between their souls.

It didn’t matter who Rumi was or who she would be. Either way, it was their Rumi.

And they were Rumi’s girls.

All three girls shouted out in unison, “Yes Celine!”

Celine felt their bond reforge yet again, and couldn’t help but smile.

Chapter Text

Now that they all had their harmonies, Celine saw that there was no reason to continue holding back on them. Which is how the girls learned that Celine had been holding back.

Before it was about learning the fundamentals and mastering them. They were well beyond that now. Now it was about creating a style, and pushing themselves to the limit and then beyond that.

Dance practice went on for hours now and was expected to be done at the same time as singing practice. They needed to be able to sing back a note from hearing it almost immediately, and how to keep their breathing steady and controlled. While being covered in incredibly dense weights. For hours.

It didn’t stop there. Their teacher no longer simply gave them dances to copy or choreography to learn for the sake of battle, but instead had begun expecting them to come up with their own. Every week, one of the girls was in charge of making new dances, one girl was in charge of lyrics, and the last was in charge of organizing the resources for the other two to facilitate the performances. Celine refused to allow any of them to slip up on these skills, and reinforced how important it was to be multi-talented.

Hilariously, this revealed many things about the group.

Zoey had a great mind for creative and brilliant lyrics that were akin to poetry, with inspirations from hip hop, rock, and folk songs. More than anyone, she had a way of painting ideas into one's mind with lyrics in a way the other girls could scarcely compete with.

If Zoey was poetry in concept, Mira was poetry in motion. She had a keen eye for movement, and aesthetics from her years of being watched by her family. This made her not only an excellent costume designer for the weeks were she was in charge of resources, but it also meant that she tended to have the best choreographies for whatever song they were writing that week, being able to bring out the emotions put into a song far easier through their body than through their voice. 

Finally Rumi was…perfect. She wrote very catchy songs and had routines that were clean and simple while being eye-catching. They were exactly what a shareholder or investment would describe as a smart investment.

In other words, they felt empty.

It wasn’t necessarily her fault. She did things the right way, but because of that, she had trouble writing things that were able to connect like the other two could. She definitely did not cry about this in her room, nor did she throw a tantrum about it in her bed. Rumi was better than that.

Bleached pillows told no tales.

On the other hand, the girls practically begged her to be the organizer every week, even when Celine strictly forbade repeats. While it was a bit stifling to be under her thumb, they were also fed, well rested, and moving in between activities with time to spare while also growing their skillset. In truth, when it came to being in charge for administrative tasks, having been raised by the leader of the Sunlight Sisters was a clear advantage. She had a head for optics and organization that could not be matched. It helped that she really liked coloring the agendas.

It didn’t take long for the girls to start sharing notes with one another on the weeks they didn’t get their favorite positions. If Celine noticed, she didn’t comment too much about it so long as they weren’t too blatant.

After all, this was the easy work. The hard work, as always, came on the training field.

Like being told that all spars were now expected to be done blind.

“To master your advanced skills, we’ll being advanced training exercises” Celine had said with her leveled gaze as she held up pieces of black fabric, “From now on, you will be expected to complete your sparring sessions with these on. You should be able to engage with your enemy even with your eyes closed, and you should be able to hide from one another just the same. Two of you will be the aggressors with one of you being on defense.”

“She’s finally done it. She’s lost her mind.” Mira groans, trying to pierce Rumi’s defenses, only to be pushed away again.

“I dunno, I think this is kinda fun! Like playing darkness tag!” Zoey tilted her head towards her left and pounced, “Rumi! You’re it!”

Rumi waits carefully as Zoey zooms in her direction, side stepping the attack with ease, “Zoey, if you announce the attack,me  being blindfolded stops being an advantage for you”

Zoey lands a few feet away and rolls into a standing position, cackling, “You need the handicap! Neither of you can compare to the great Zozo when it comes to shadow tag!”

Rumi chuckled at Zoey’s bluster, “Mira, the goal is for us to be able to communicate and coordinate our movements with one another enough to be able to detect each other, whilst keeping it brief enough to be able to keep it surprising. I think the blindfold acts as a fair restriction.”

Mira does not say the obvious. Of course you think this is fair. You are Ryu Rumi! You are the most insane.

Zoey is not so generous, “Well to be fair Rumi, I think you could beat us up in your sleep, much less with your eyes closed.”

Rumi responds as Mira throws out a fist at her, quickly ducking before kicking the legs out from under Mira, “I doubt I could do it in my sleep. I haven’t found any techniques that allow me to continue to fight while unconscious.”

“How are you doing that?!” Mira grumbled from the ground, “I didn’t even say anything that time! And I made sure to be quiet!”

“You did? But I could hear you just fine.” Rumi replied inquisitively as Zoey tossed a rock in Rumi’s direction.

Rumi caught it without looking, “Both of you really.”

Mira rolls her eyes and folds her arms, “Okay but how?”

“Hm…I’m not sure if I should tell you. I’d hate to undermine the exercise.” Rumi hums thoughtfully, though a slight smirk ghosts itself upon her lips.

“Undermine my ass, you just want to watch me suffer you little monster!” Mira growls out, frustrated with the current predicament.

Rumi flinches involuntarily. Something in her heart stirs. Her song skips for a second in her soul.

“I’m not a monster.” She says plainly, with a strange iron.

Mira raises an eyebrow, “Since when? You’ve always been a fucking monster. Heck, I haven’t meet a demon yet, but I doubt they are going to be worst than you when you get uppity.”

Rumi frowned and pulled up her blindfold, “I’m not a monster. Or a demon.”

Zoey held out her hands towards both girls, “Hey, maybe we should-”

“What’s with you today? Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden? Is it because of your harmony? Because the Rumi from before would have taken this on the chin. What? Suddenly got a glass jaw?”

Rumi scowled, “Take it back.”

“Rumi-” Zoey pleaded.

“Make me.” Mira hissed

Suddenly all bets were off as Rumi was overwhelmed by a feeling she could not name and pounced at Mira. This was not a warriors fight. It was barely a fight at all. The two girls found themselves rolling around on the ground, pulling hair, and getting quick jabs out from awkward positions. Really it looked like a battle between two upset cats than a fight between trained warriors.

“Why are you being such a stubborn jerk!” Rumi said as she pulled at Mira’s pink hair, trying to pull her from being on top of her while Mira pushed down on her face, trying to remove herself from Rumi’s biting range.

“WHY ARE YOU BEING SUCH A FREAK! I THOUGHT YOU GOT HOUSE TRAINED ALREADY YOU GOD DAMN STRAY!”

“IM NOT A FREAK! I’M RUMI!” The older girl cried out before punching Mira.

Suddenly Mira is hoisted up over Zoey’s shoulder, “OKAY CAN WE PLEASE CHILL OUT FOR LIKE A MINUTE?!”

Mira, wriggled in Zoey’s arms, “PUT ME DOWN!”

Zoey held on tighter with both of her hands, “NOT UNTIL YOU CHILL!”

Rumi huffed on the ground before getting up and wiping her face of the little splotches of blood and dirt, “...I’m going inside. You both keep at it.”

She didn’t seem to notice the tears falling from her own eyes as she turned away. Mira felt like a whole opened up in her chest seeing this, as she reached out, “Wait Rumi-”

“It’s fine. I’m…fine.” Rumi said as she wiped her eyes and left the training field.

Mira’s arm dropped slowly and Zoey’s lips pressed into a line. “Zoey. Put me down…please.”

Zoey quickly placed Mira back to standing as they both reeled from the conversation. Mira frowned, “I…I don’t know what's going on. What was that? We’ve called her that for years and she’s just…suddenly mad about it? It wasn’t even like me being mean or anything! She’s ridiculous.”

Zoey pressed her fingers together and fidgeted with them a few moments before answering, “..Maybe its getting close to her time of the month?”

Mira gave her an egregious side eye, “You did not just say that.”

“What! It might be! She’s not immune to cramps!” Zoey grumbled, folding her arms, “...Probably.”

“See! You aren’t even sure! She’s always been like this, so why is she freaking out now?”

“I don’t know Mira! Maybe she’s just…different now. We have all changed a lot from when we first met. Why can’t Rumi?” Zoey said softly.

“I’m not saying she can’t change, I just…I don’t like this.” Mira’s lips were pressed together tightly, “I…I don’t know why she’s acting so different. When I found my song, it didn’t feel like that. It felt more like…some things made more sense. Like I knew who I was and who I wanted to be and I could be more of myself. Rumi…she feels like she’s becoming someone else.”

Zoey put a hand on Mira’s shoulder, “Hey. That’s still our Rumi. Even if she’s…acting different, that’s still our Roomie Rumi. Our bestie. She’s just…going through a change. But doesn’t that mean this is the time when we should be there for her the most? Let her know that we care?”

“Of course I care Zoey, and I don’t mind telling her, its just…what am I supposed to do if she just blows up at me? She doesn’t tell us what’s wrong, she just gets upset and leaves!” Mira holds herself tighter, “I don’t care if she’s different. I just…I’m afraid whoever she’s becoming won’t be our friend. I’d hate that.”

Zoey hugged Mira tight, “...Me too.”

Dinner that night was awkward. The girls didn’t speak much and the dishes were done in silence. Rumi was cordial as ever, but some of the light that she had recently been shining had left her eyes. That alone was almost enough to break the other two.

“Goodnight Mira. Zoey.” Rumi said softly as she attempted to turn away, only to have her wrist grabbed by Mira.

“Wait-. Just…” Mira’s lips opened and closed. She had gone over this in her head dozens of times. Her hand clenched and unclenched around Rumi’s wrist.

Rumi flinched.

Mira pulled her hand back as if it were burning, “I…I just…I don’t…”

Zoey elbowed her in the side. “We are just really worried about you is all.”

“Ow! Hey-” Mira grumbled and rubbed the back of her head, “I mean…duh. You’ve been…different and…I just…”

Rumi cocked her head as Mira fumbled. Zoey’s eyes darted between them as they stared at one another.

“...If that’s all, I should get going.” Rumi said. Still she didn’t move.

Mira’s eyes widened and her mouth opened again. She closed her eyes and exhaled, “I…I don’t think you are a freak. Or a monster. Or a problem or anything. I think you are the best of us. You always have been. So…just…next time just tell me…okay?”

Mira scratches at her arm, being on the verge of tears herself, “I…I really don’t like it when we fight. It feels really bad, and I…I just care about you so much-”

Rumi watched Mira as tears began to well up in her own eyes, “I…I care about you too. I’m sorry I fought you, I just felt so angry and hurt and I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know what to tell you because this is all so new to me and I’m supposed to be the leader-”

Zoey rushed over to hug Rumi, “Before you are our leader you are our friend! You deserve the same patience that everyone does and the ability to change, we just…we are just so scared of losing you! You are just so important to us!”

“I’m so sorry girls!” Rumi cried as tears streaked down her face.

“No I’m sorry!” Wept loudly.

“I just want you both to be happy-” Zoey sobbed

By this point all three girls were crying in the hallway, blubbering their feelings to one another. 

The next morning when Celine went to wake up the girls for their training, she found them all huddled together in the hallway, laid on top of one another. 

After taking a picture, she covered them all in a blanket and let them have the morning off. They clearly needed it.

Chapter Text

Day by day, the hunters trained and grew. Week by week, they advanced to new levels and achieved new heights with one another. Month by month, practice became proficiency became mastery as the trio went from three separate warriors to a single living unit, their songs slowly interweaving into spiritual tapestry. 

Spars had gone from chaotic battles to natural dances as each girl instinctively knew the steps of the other. Their trances were no longer all encompassing actions, but background processes that only required moments of focus. Their techniques no longer required elaborate lyrics to communicate their intent, only single verses or lines. 

It wasn’t perfect. It’d take decades to reach true perfection. It was, however, far greater than they had ever been.

Rumi in particular had become a force to be reckoned with in the wake of her discovery. She moved like a ghost through the honmoon, thoughts and feelings concealed like a shadow before attacking precisely where your defense was weakest. Counterattacks were met with barriers and false intents to confuse and undermine. 

That wasn’t to say the others were far beyond. Zoey had a talent for fading into the background until she wanted to make her presence known and was far more creative about using the honmoon itself. She had somehow managed to master manipulating it to the point that she could even walk up walls or the side of trees by wrapping herself in the honmoon like a barrier and using it to anchor her to surfaces.

Mira on the other hand, may not have excelled at any specific techniques, but was far more in tune with the honmoon itself than the other two, able to express her intents with a fraction of the effort or complexity. She was routinely able to bring out more power than either of the others were expecting and push them, not through complex strategy, but sheer force of will. As always, she put her entire self on the line with everything that she did, and the results were undeniable.

Something had begun to click between the three of them that no one of the girls had a name for. They had always been close, but this was beyond that. They felt each other in the quiet moments. Their heartbeats became lullabies for the others. Their breath became hymns. Their laughter became prayers and promises. It was something far beyond what any of them had the language to describe, but every day they woke up and worked together, the feeling only grew as a bond they could not name was taking shape.

At its apex, the three moved as one. Blindfolds made no difference, neither did restraints. The power they could express through their three part harmony was incomparable to what they had been doing individually.

Their steps were precise.

Their strikes were powerful.

Their hearts were full and minds were clear.

Finally, after nearly a years worth of practice and progress, Celine agreed that they had grown strong enough to reach the next level of their training.

“You girls have grown faster and more impressively than I could have ever predicted. This is not a reason to get overconfident, but your talents must be recognised. Each of you has become an irreplaceable member of your team, and you each bring talents that make the other two complete. As a unit, you have grown strong, and I have every confidence that you will live up to the legacy that you each bear. Now it is time to solidify the legacy YOU will leave for those who follow you.”

All three girls sat at attention within the training field, the honmoon humming the hunters mantra in whispers around them as Celine spoke with her hands behind her back. The sun was setting in the background after a long day of training, but none of the girls looked remotely tired. Unlike before, not a single one of them even attempted to goof off. What was happening felt too serious.

“Until now, you have been taking from the honmoon as it exists. You have taken wisdom from your predecessors. You have taken power. Techniques. This is the way of acolytes of the honmoon, or manshin that assist us in our duties. As trainees, this is more than enough.”

Celine looked each of them in the eyes with a steely gaze.

“As Hunters and stewards of the honmoon, it is only the beginning. Now that you have learned how to properly use the gifts of the honmoon, it is time that you learn how to give back to it, and cement your place in its history.”

Celine raises a hand, “To do that, you all will need to become fully realised Mudang. Which means it is finally time for you each to manifest your divine armament: the shinmugi.”

Each of the girls' eyes widened. Rumi’s face grows stronelike with furious focus and determination. Mira’s smile becomes wicked and wide. Zoey is trying not to vibrate out of this dimension from excitement.

Celine waved her hand as her crescent kusarigama manifested into her grasp, “Your mugi is not simply a weapon. It is a manifestation of your soul, shaped by your harmony and crystalized by your will and the wisdom therein. It is your ritual implement. It is the key that unlocks your full potential as a hunter.”

Each of the girls nods to show that they are listening. Celine sighs.

She lets the chain hang over her shoulder and smiles, “It is also a very pretty magical weapon that you will be using to kill demons. This is your final rite of passage required to be recognised by the honmoon as its new protectors, graduating from trainees to nascent hunters. What you manifest will be based on-”

Zoey raised her hand eagerly, waving it slightly to such an extent that Celine was mildly concerned about her bladder, “Yes Zoey?”

“Can I still make a gun?!” Zoey cried out with a wide smile.

Celine rolled her eyes, “That is…a possibility.”

Rumi and Mira shot Zoey a glare as she skipped up towards Celine. She turned her head back to stick her tongue out at the pair before putting her hands out to their mentor.

“Teach me how I might manifest the sickest AK the world has ever seen, oh wise teacher!”

Behind her Rumi grimaced and Mira just shook her head.

“(One days dishes, it explodes in her face)” Murmured Mira

“(Make it a week if it fizzles into nothing.)” Mumbled Rumi.

“(Deal.)” Mira replied, doing a little fist bump.

“HEY! What are you two mumbling about over there!” Zoey turned puffing out her cheeks.

“Praying for your success, don’t mind us.” Mira lied with a shit eating grin.

Zoey narrowed her eyes and harrumpfed, “You joke now, but you won’t be joking when I unleash the beast with my minigun all over you fools!”

Celine waits for the girls to get the banter out of their systems before clapping a single time. That’s all it takes to immediately get all of their attention. Celine feels a surge of pride well up in her heart. I’ve trained them well.

“All jokes aside, I fully intend to teach you how to manifest your weapons. What weapons you manifest will depend on the bonds you share, and how that takes shape. Afterwards you may have the ability to forge another weapons, but frankly, I don’t think its worth it.”

Zoey opened her mouth-

“Also the honmoon cannot form complex chemical substances. Like gunpowder. For the bullets in your gun. It doesn’t really do explosives. It has been tried.” Celine clarified.

Zoey looked aghast as Mira cackled and Rumi sighed, “What do you mean? You meant to tell me that the magical song light that can defend us and teach me kung fu can’t make bombs?”

“That is what I am telling you, yes.” Celine said with a note of satisfaction, “Trust me, I’ve been trying for years. Save yourself the trouble.”

Zoey turned back to the other two, “Did you know about this???” she demanded, scandalized.

Mira wiped a tear away, “Zo, if we could make guns, why would anyone make anything else? Besides, do you think we’d be doing all of this training if we could just aim and shoot?”

Zoey opened her mouth and then closed it and then looked to Rumi, “Tell me you did not join in this betrayal of my heart.”

Rumi looked suddenly found the clouds very interesting.

“Rumi…” Zoey pleaded.

“I…might have known…something about this…a little.” She tried to smile to ward off the awkwardness. It was somehow more offputting.

Mira cackled louder.

Zoey frowned.

“Okay fine! Yes I knew it wouldn’t work, I’ve been researching the hunter weapons since I was old enough to read and due to the ceremonial and archaic nature of the current honmoon, it isn’t designed to get into any deeper materials or molecular structures. It’s why we have generic armor or energy instead of like…chainmail or something.” Rumi rambled, “But I dunno, maybe you’ll be the first? I didn’t want to discount that.”

Zoey fell to the ground, slamming her fist, “My whole life is a lie! How could you all hurt me like this!?”

Celine watched the three console each other from the theatrics yet before she began to walk to the center of their training area. The girls giggled and bantered a bit longer before noticing that she had moved away.

Celine spoke to them again as the girls scrambled to keep up, “As Hunters, you are expected to do more than simply protect the honmoon. Your voices, gifted by the gods, create it. Souls are the materials that craft the instruments you play. Your harmony is the tune that your soul is aligned with. You have now spent years mastering the skills and wisdom of your ancestors in alignment with that tune, creating a style of battle that is unique to each of you. You have come together as a group and learned to connect with one another not as three parts but as a single whole. You have what it takes to do what could have been done before. Now all there is left is to prove it.”

Celine pulled out of her pocket. It was a simple wooden token with the character for “empty” on it. She turned to the girls deliberately, “Brace yourselves.”

Rumi focuses on Celine, as Mira gets into a defensive stance and Zoey begins looking around. Celine smiles and drops the wooden token that hits the honmoon. Light ripples outward towards the fore corners from where it strikes the ground and where the light goes, the honmoon vanishes, being pushed back to the boundary of the field they were in.

The girls are immediately wrongfooted. Mira’s body dips as if suddenly exhausted. Zoey blinks over and over like she has been blinded. Rumi attempts to stand strong, and act unaffected, but even she is twitching with discomfort.

Celine empathsizes. It was just as disquieting for her too. “You all have been training where the honmoon is strongest. That is fine for training, but in the field, the honmoon will not be at its strongest. It will be torn asunder, and barely usable. It is not something you will rely on. It relies on you. Your voices do not simply ignite or control the honmoon. You create it.”

Celine folds her hand behind her back and gives them a serious look, “Together, your voices will create the golden honmoon, and seal away Gwi-ma and his army forevermore. Together, you will fight back the darkness. By working together, your songs will not only forge the honmoon but also the tools you will use to protect it.”

Celine gave the girls time to take in this information. Mira was the first to speak up, “How will we know what weapons to make?”

“The weapon that will come will be the manifestation of your soul and feel natural to use based on the wisdom you have gleaned from the honmoon thus far.”

Mira nodded as Zoey piped up next, “If there is no honmoon here, why aren’t the demons coming to kill us? Isn’t the only thing stopping them the honmoon?”

Rumi and Mira nodded in agreement. Celine gestured to the ground, “Gwi-ma’s demons seek souls as tribute to their master. The only souls available here are that of three hunters in training and one veteran. Would you go into a restaurant where everything on the menu can and has been explicitly designed to kill you?”

Zoey thought about it seriously and then shrugged only for Rumi to ask, “How do you know that we are ready?”

Celine looks Rumi in the eyes for a moment as the silence in the air becomes thick and heavy. Neither Zoey nor Mira are willing to smile or laugh the question off. Celine can feel the weight behind it. She doesn’t smile. 

“Because I’ve watched you. Over the last five years, I have seen each and every one of you grow more than I could have ever imagined. I’ve seen you become stronger, braver, faster, smarter and more talented by the day. I’ve seen you fight and come back together better for it. I have seen you…and you all are ready for the next step. It’s that simple.”

Celined nodded as if she had simply imparted another piece of wisdom even as Rumi’s eyes widened and her breath caught. Even as the girls' backs were straighter and their hearts filled with pride. 

In this space bereft of magic, three girls stood together against the dark. Hand in hand they held one another before their mentor, giving brief glances that spoke volumes in moments before turning to Celine resolutely.

“We won’t let you down Celine.” Rumi stated confidently. 

Celine’s lips quivered up ever so slightly as she spoke, “Show me.”

“Yes Celine!” The girls said in unison before smiling at one another, and coming into a huddle.

“Okay so what are we singing? My vote is Rap God.” giggles Zoey.

“Your vote is ALWAYs Rap God.” Mira complains without an ounce of bite.

“Its Nem is the G.O.A.T and you know it.” Zoey replies

“He is pretty good.” Rumi responds with a smirk, “But I think there is a better song for us to sing when it comes to something like this. This moment is important. Generation defining.”

Mira and Zoey looked to Rumi and nodded fiercely, “What’s the plan Rumi?” Mira said confidently.

Rumi smiled to the both of them, “Why not finish our training with the song that started it all. I think that's the only way we SHOULD do this.”

Rumi expects the two of them to laugh, only for Mira to nod along, “If you think that's best. I know that song means a lot to me, so I’m definitely down.”

Zoey beams, “Yeah! You’re our leader. If you say the mantra is our best bet, let's do that! It’s something we all know and has meaning to us as hunters! Besides, its like…THE honmoon song! If anything is going to summon the honmoon, its that.”

“So its agreed. We are doing-”

“-the Hunters Mantra!” 

“-Rap God!”

Rumi and Mira looked to Zoey only for her to blush, “Er, I mean the Hunter’s Mantra!”

Rumi nods to the two of them and steps back, still holding both of their hands. The three girls formed a triangle.

Then they sang.

“We are hunters, voices strong.” Rumi began as her chest felt a soft rumbling. Something beneath the surface had begun to stir and quiet and then stir again.

“Slaying demons with our song.” Mira followed, her voice filled with determination and brutality. Her soul called out from itself to wake something between them.

“Fix the world, and make it right.” Zoey chanted, smiling wide as the warmth in her chest began to bloom out in two directions, echoed between the three souls now calling out to each other.

Three songs interweave as their souls begin to ignite. 

A song of devotion and tenacity. 

A song of joy and cunning. 

A song of leadership and perfection.

One after another their songs call out to one another and weave into something greater than the sum of their parts. Under the night sky, their hearts shine bright.

“We darkness finally meets the light.” They sing as three souls become one song that weaves itself between them. All three girls stare in awe as their voices pull something tangible out of their souls. Threads of starlight and power interwoven into staves of song that tangle together in glimmering azure light. 

From their lips, the honmoon is borne into the world, rippling and raw and alive as it echoes their song in return, voices rumbling through the heavens and earth like thunder and lightning.

홀로 어둠을 밝히려 (hollo eodumeul balkirya)

Their voices roll across the mountain side, bright and shining.

우리 노래 부르리라 (urin norae bureurira)

In the grove, a tree is crowned with light, as a new trio is christened.

굳건한 이 소리로 (gutgeonhan i soriro)

In the skies above, the stars shine brighter as divine warriors take up the mantle.

이 세상을 고치리라 (i sesang-eul gochirira)

In their hearts, they feel the honmoon ignite with power, not through a spell, but a promise. An oath written in their blood and carved into their souls. They sing as loudly as their voices will allow, as power flows through them that they did not know and takes shape before them.

The Gok-do, a polearm to execute those who would harm the innocent with elegant might

The Shin-kal, playful knives that cut through the night, dancing daggers destined to destroy demons.

The Sa-In Geom, a divine blade born from the claws of a divine beast, whose blade strikes down disaster and whose wisdom guided dynasties

From three souls comes one song and from one song comes three weapons borne into the hands of those divine warriors meant to wield them, now baptized in celestial light.

Celine watches it all as the pride she has felt for so long nearly overwhelms her. A single tear falls down her face as she now sees what her mentors were able to see before, and felt the wonder of passing on their legacy. More important still, Celine witnesses the girls that she had trained for so long each come into their own as women. 

She sees how Mira has allowed herself to care and connect.

She sees how Zoey has begun to take up space and be herself

She sees how Rumi (oh her darling Rumi) has managed to find joy and confidence that Celine had to fight to achieve.

In this one moment, where she can feel the barrier between the mortal world and spirit world both strengthen and thinned, she allows herself a single slip of the mask. A moment of respite in her heart as she whispers to someone who is so far away.

Look at our girls Mi-yeong. Those are our girls.