5 DAYS LATER...
''That is a well-crafted one,'' Luna said, as she examined the spear that Madi had so eagerly placed in front of her. ''But the knots could be improved. You should use a double clove-hitch instead to secure the spearhead—it is secure, and can be easily removed should the spearhead be blunted.''
Madi nodded excitedly, and despite it all— hung onto Luna's every single word as if it were a Heda that was making their speech instead of an elder sister who was teaching her how to make the best spear, as she intently took all of it in. ''Okay!'' she said, and when Luna held out the spear, Madi snatched from her hands excitedly, all too eager to make Luna's suggested improvements for it.
Although it had been less than a week since Luna had admitted to, well, everything she had done while she was in Shallow Valley, Madi had soon grown back close to Luna. It wasn't exactly a surprise—after all, Luna was Madi's long-lost sister, and Madi was somewhat eager to forgive, and even more so to ignore and forget their pasts. After all, if it was done and gone, then what could they do about it anymore anyway?
Perhaps maybe Clarke and Lexa were a lot less enthusiastic about it, but they couldn't decide what she thought. Especially when it was her sister they were talking about.
Especially.
Madi still couldn't believe it. But, well, that was kind of a false statement, because after the days have passed, things definitely have shifted in her head a little bit. Perhaps she might've hoped that it was fake, that it was a dream—so at least then she wouldn't need to think about the bad things Luna had done, at least then Luna would've been preserved in her mind, as a teasing elder sister who played games with her and who could do no wrong, as someone who was immortal and good forever in her memory—but in a way, it kind of made her believe it a little more, after Luna had told them of all that happened—it had made it feel more realistic.
And even though it sucked, even if it made her feel like she wasn't in a dream anymore, it was real, realer than ever, and there was absolutely nothing that could change that, because, despite all the stuff that happened, she knew for sure she wasn't living in some fantasy anymore.
And if Luna's expression didn't agree with her, then, well, Madi was pretty sure she didn't have her head screwed on straight. But Luna did, her expression was exactly the same as hers, and Madi knew that her sister, too, didn't know if it was a dream or not, but couldn't care enough to wonder if she was asleep and if she should wake up, couldn't care because real was now, and now had felt realer than ever.
And even if Madi was asleep, she wasn't gonna wake up. Even with all the confessions and the revelations and the confirmations and all that, she wouldn't want to wake up. Not when everything just felt so real now, not when she felt like she was no longer in a fantasy. She didn't want to wake up, and honestly? She was definitely too happy to, despite everything that happened.
(Who knew that your sister confessing about the stuff she did after Praimfaya struck would make her happy? But Madi knew she wasn't lying, wasn't hiding behind some secrets anymore, and that it had felt so freeing, knowing that her sister wasn't hiding anything anymore. Even though the idol in her mind had been broken, she—and it felt so weird, but—Madi had felt, just a tad happy and glad, knowing that her sister wasn't some immortal goddess who could do no wrong. It made her real... and despite everything, even though Madi hated what had happened, that was something Madi cherished.)
Madi's small grin must've been obvious because Luna's lips quirked back at her and nodded upwards as if telling her to get on with fixing the spear. So, unfortunately, she had to throw down her train of thoughts for a second and gazed at the spear itself.
