Lunar's Arc

Chapter 1 of 5

Lunar walks through the Starfull Abyss with a pouch of seeds at her hip and a plan she hasn't run from yet. She's looking for the right spot to start her tea garden — somewhere fairies will gather to share stories, somewhere she might finally stay. The air smells like rain and something sweet she can't name. She finds it just past dawn. A clearing ringed by ancient stones, soft moss underfoot, and light that falls in columns through the canopy above. Perfect. She's already kneeling in the crystalline soil, pressing seeds into the ground with careful hands, when she notices the glow. Bioluminescent flowers bloom along the clearing's edge, their roots deep and established. Someone planted these. Recently. Then she sees the gazebo. Six-sided, carved wood beneath a crystal roof that catches the light and throws rainbows across the moss. It sits in the center of the clearing like it belongs there. Like it's been waiting. A pink metal marker shaped like a mushroom stands beside the steps, its surface carved with patterns that mean claimed, occupied, taken. She sits back on her heels and looks at the seeds she just planted, at the garden that's already here, at the structure someone else built first. Lunar brushes dirt from her palms and stands. She could walk away right now — find another clearing, another perfect spot. The old habit pulls at her like a tide. But her seeds are in the ground. The flowers glow softly in the morning light. She picks up her seed pouch, walks to the gazebo, and sits on the bottom step. Whoever claimed this place might come back. She doesn't leave.