Catalyst

Chapter 29: Four, Three, Two, One

Luna was cold.

This made sense, of course, because it was December, she wasn't wearing warm clothing, and stone castles are quite drafty. Luna rather wished she were wearing warm clothing at the moment, but some gurdies had run off with all of hers. Or that was what her roommates had said. They often made up ridiculous creatures to blame on their own mischief. Still, she would need at least a warm robe and slippers in the morning. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time Luna's possessions had gone missing in such a fashion, so she hunting them down had become something of a second nature to her.

Shivering a bit, Luna walked purposefully into the uppermost level of the dungeons. This was where she usually found the barest essentials. Tonight, she really wished this wasn't the case, because the dungeons were even colder than the rest of the castle. As her breath began to fog the air, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was a robe, perhaps even one of hers. She was reaching out to take it when, to her great surprise, it spoke!

"Cease contact," it said.

"Oh!" Luna squeaked as she hastily withdrew her arm. Then, with a start, she recognized the voice. "Abathur! How lovely to meet you here. Are you also looking for something?"

Abathur stepped into the light, looking slightly reluctant. "Wandering. No purpose."

Luna shivered again. "Just wandering? I don't suppose you saw any clothing as you wandered, did you?"

"Have not."

"Oh." Disappointment filled Luna, and she shivered again. "Do you think you could help me look?"

Abathur peered at her in his unique way. "Have extra. Can provide, if you lack."

Luna felt an unfamiliar warmth spread through her chest. "Really?"

"Yes," Abathur said, "Remain here." Then, he walked away.

Watching him leave, Luna was startled. Was he really going to help her? He'd sounded quite blunt, but he always sounded like that. As the minutes slowly, frigidly passed her by, something kept Luna clinging to the hope that Abathur wasn't like the others. That maybe he really would come back around that corner and-

Luna heard footsteps. He was back! As Abathur rounded the corner, a spare robe in hand, she couldn't help but run to him and throw her arms around him in an overwhelming hug. She saw him flinch defensively, nearly avoiding the contact like he always did, but for some reason, this time, he actually let her fully embrace him.

For about three seconds.

"Cease contact."

Luna obligingly let go, and eyed him critically. His heart had been beating quite quickly during her hug, and he looked to be breathing faster than normal. "Did you run all the way here, Abathur?"

"Were losing heat," he replied in his usual monotone, "Slower path, necessary?" As he said this, he held out the robe he'd fetched for emphasis.

Luna too the robe and wrapped it around herself. "No, I don't think so."

"Lacking insulation. Inefficient. Reason?" Abathur asked.

"I was..." Luna's mind raced. She fidgeted a bit, wavering between telling the truth and some of her usual fiction, when confronted like this. As indecisiveness took over her mind, her mouth began to describe the situation as she saw it, like it always did.

"My roommates stole all of my warm clothing and hid it. I'm going to need something to wear tomorrow, so I had to find it. When nothing was hidden in the common room...I kept looking." Luna's eyes widened. Even she was shocked at her openness.