𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧

Five

Liana unclasped her moonstone band, threw it to the stupid plastic floor, and crushed it under her shoe. "We are not some kind of vermin that they can just get rid of." She felt her face flame with anger. "They banish us because our ancestors were killers, but they do not realize that they are killers too?" She glanced over at Travis, realizing she was ranting like she did with her mother.

But he only grinned. "You'll fit right in, won't you?"

A girl with silky auburn hair poked her head into their tent. She had bright eyes and long lashes, and winked at Travis when he beamed at her. "Queen Xina's looking for the new girl."

"That would be me," Liana said, drawing the girl's eye.

"Before you get any ideas," the girl smiled warmly, glancing at Travis, "He's mine."

"Got that," Liana turned, seeing that Travis had flushed red. "Let's go."

"I'm Iris, by the way," the girl remarked as they walked down the path to the smallest tent, which had to be Xina's. "I was the newbie last moon. I'm an Air Bender."

"I thought Travis was the newbie last moon," Liana tilted her head.

"There were two of us. It's kinda odd, that blue moons are coming more frequently now. Maybe that's why the mainlanders are scared- the next Blueblood flush is coming a year early," Iris shook her head with dissapointment. "They don't want us getting 'too big and powerful.'" She mocked.

Liana shivered, trying to push the thought of the next flush out of her mind. She turned to Iris. "What's an Air Bender? Well, I mean I get the basics. But how exactly does your curse- ability- work?"

Iris chuckled. "Well, I'm not a witch like you. But I can manipulate the air around me-" She swished her fingers around her feet and a gust of wind blew her off the ground, keeping her floating in the air. Iris chuckled as Liana's eyes grew wide.

"It's a pretty common ability among the Outcasts, you'll see," she said, landing.

"What's Xina's ability?" Liana wondered, staring at Xina's pearly tent.

"She's where most of our leaders come from- Echoes. It's a really creepy skill- well, not as creepy as the Forseers. They just sit around in tents all day and think about death and are totally emo. She, on the other hand, can make really loud, ear splitting noises that make your ears ring for days. I think she once made someone loose their hearing, actually- and they can talk in other people's voices." Iris grinned, as if that wasn't going to make Liana nervous to have a one- on- one with her. "Well, here we are!" she gave Liana a thumbs-up as she pushed open the tent flap. She ducked inside, wondering what Xina wanted from her and hoping she would leave with her hearing intact.

The tent was small, but cozy- warm candlelight, shimmering pearly walls, soft furs on the floor that beat the cheap plastic any day. Xina looked very out of place with her dark, dark eyes and sword sheath strapped across her back.

"Sit," she ordered, pointing to a spot along the floor. Her voice contrasted like black and white with her warm surroundings.

Liana obeyed, plopping down cross- legged on the furs. Her awkward fingers fiddled for something to do, so she settled for tucking her silver- blonde hair behind her ear.

Xina cleared her throat. "Did Travis or Iris tell you about the flush in two weeks?"

Liana froze, glancing up at Xina to make sure she'd heard her correctly. "Two weeks?"

Xina nodded. "It's coming a year early. So, we have two options- we can fight our way out, or we can hide from the flush."

Liana couldn't believe that the mainlanders could have the will to decimate half a population. She furrowed her brows and straightened her posture, and although she wasn't sure why Xina was consulting her with the decision, she found the confidence to say, "Let's fight."