Infinitesimal

Ari chuckled, letting herself sink to the floor. She pulled her legs up to her stomach and rested her head on her knees. "Goodnight, Evereth," she murmured, feeling her wings slowly return to her body.

He tried to find a comfortable way to lay, then gave up and just stretched out on his back. He took a deep breath and let it out, then fell into sleep.

She smiled, reaching over slowly and combing her fingers through his hair. Her smile became sad. "Forgive me, Evereth. Forgive me for putting you in the worst danger imaginable," she whispered.

He stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake up. He was in between light and heavy sleep.

She looked down at her arm. The tan was slowly leaving the skin, returning it to a pale ivory color. Her wings vanished completely and her eyes stung for a moment and she knew they had returned to her human color. "The moon must have fully set," she whispered, looking at the cliff's face. "That means the day is here."

When he had gotten enough sleep to recover from the day and still have energy to spare, he woke up.
"Whooaa.." he said, steadying himself when he realized he had a mind-numbing headache and dizziness to boot.

"Easy, Evereth," she murmured, moving to help steady him. "Here, drink this." She held a cup fill with silver liquid iup to his mouth.

"What is it...?" he said, almost afraid to take it. But then again, when had she proven to be untrusworthy so far? If she had wanted to hurt him or even kill him, she wouldn't have talked to him in the first place.

"Liquidized moonbeams," she said. "It's extremely helpful for Lunari and humans, but no human has tried it because you do not have the technology to make it."

"Ooh, it looks really cool. What does it taste like?" he asked, looking at it curiously.

"I can't explain it," she murmured, holding it out. "Try it."

He cautiously sipped from the glass and instantaneously felt better.

She smiled, stepping back a step. "Feel better?"

He nodded vigorously and asked excitedly, "Can I have the whole glass?"

She bit her lip, thinking for a moment. "Drink it slowly. You're the first human to have it, so I don't exactly know what will happen if you drink it all at once. Give your body time to get used to it," she said, looking down at her ivory arm.

He took another sip and asked, "So, how exactly are you a Lunari? Are you only born one, or can you become one? Or have you not really gotten close enough to a human to know?"

"Why? Do you want to become one?" she teased lightly before sighing. "I'm one of the last pure-blooded Lunari left. It is possible for a human to become a Lunari by wanting it enough and mating with their Lunari mate if they have one. I was born one, and because of it, I have a lot of things to deal with. Including the hunters."

"Uh, mate?" he teased back. "We only just met."

"You asked me the question, Evereth. Besides, I might not be your Lunari mate. There are a few open males and females I could introduce you to though," she said, winking before her eyes got sad. "Once there were so much more of us. But, we've dwindled down to a mere thousand or two." She sat down, closing her eyes.

"Males? I appreciate the thought, but.. I don't really swing that way. But why are the hunters.. well, hunting you? Did one of you hurt one of them? Oh, sorry, that was probably offensive.. I really should think about these things." He started to mentally beat himself up over saying that. I'm such an idiot! I keep making a fool of myself in front of her. What's wring with me?

She looked over at him. "They aren't just hunting me, although I'm one of their prime targets. They want to erradicate every Lunari in the world, and they know if they kill the Royalty, like me, then the Lunari have no hope left."

"Well, do you know why they want to get you out of the picture? Wow, I sound like a mobster.. But wait- you're royalty?"

"Yes, to both. If they destroy me, then fewer Lunari children can be born. If fewer children are born, it's easier to destroy us." She shivered, holding her stomach. "They kill us in the worst ways too. Moonlight is like food, water and air to humans to Lunair. We can only go a a week and a half to two weeks without it. The Hunters lock us in moonlight proof boxes and set out in a bare field in the night. We're forced to watch the moon rise and set, knowing we can't touch or taste the moonlight."

He was starting to feel a little impatient, because she wasn't entirely answering his question the way he intended it, but at the same time, he knew the question could have been intednded personally. "I mean, you as a people. All of the Lunari. Why are you all being hunted? Is there some grudge you haven't told me about?"

She looked over at him. "They believe we are demons, creatures of the devil and that we must be destroyed to protect humanity. We've done nothing but try to exist and they hate that," she murmured softly, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"Oh. They must be serious close-minded people... They're afraid of something that they're not used to." He paused. "If it helps, I'm not afraid."

She smiled, leaning against him. "I know. But it's our true appearances they fear. We look like demons straight from hell, and when the hunters began to hunt us, hell and demons were something that had to be destroy. I was only a little girl when the hunts started, so I barely remember any of it."

He patted her back out of obligation, because being a teenage boy, he wasn't exactly used to having girls lean on him. "True appearance? How dois that different from the regular one? Is that a different phase of the moon?... Oh, I'm sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions."

"It's alright. It is different. We can only reach it if there's a lunar eclipse or a metero shower. It's... strange. Our skin turns a very deep tan, regardless of your rank, and our hair becomes like moonlight. Our eyes all become crimson with slanted pupils and our nails become longer, almost like claws. And finally, our wings become angel wings made out of leather. I've never been in my true form, but my mother told me about it," she admitted, yawning a little.

"Wow. It sounds.. really neat. I hope i'm around if it happens. Are you tired?"

She blushed lightly. "Yeah, a little. Flying really uses up a lot of my energy, and I used a ton more to keep us shielded from the Hunters. I was really reckless, but I had no choice. Had the Hunters caught us, they would've either tortured you to find out what I told you... or they would kill you on the spot. I couldn't let that happen," she said as she yawned again.

He laughed quietly. "Go to sleep, you told me this is a safe place. Sleep well, I don't need you passing out in the middle of something." He smiled.