Chapter 5: Chapter Five – Waning Gibbous

Chapter 5

"Lua…"

"Lua…"

"Lua, wake up!"

My eyes snap open as I jerk upright. I rub the sleep out of my eyes to see Lina standing over me.

"Lua, the sun is setting, it's time to go." She says gently. 

"Ok, ok." I indulge in one small stretch, clearing my mind of hazy memories of a dark and cold ocean from my dreams. I groggily slide out of my comfy bed for the last time, and follow Lina out to our living room, my fluffy pink dragon, Tiamat in hand. 

I take a seat at our table across from Lina, and grab the meia de leite she hands me. Lina and I stayed up a few hours after sunrise, planning our next moves. We agreed it was too dangerous to stay here. 

There are only a handful of water channelers in Lisbon, and it wont take the police long to figure out where I live, even if my license is still registered at the orphanage I grew up in. 

Lina also explained that the police wouldn't be the only people searching for us. Her tales of a powerful vampire "consortium" that would hunt for an unsanctioned thrall that she wasn't supposed to be able to create sounded difficult to believe. But everything that's happened to me in the last 24 hours has been hard to believe. So I guess that's who I am now, an 'unsanctioned thrall'.

"Alright, you ready?" Lina interrupts my thoughts.

I look down at my empty mug, and back up into her eyes. "Let's go." I say with a nod.

"Alright, pack only what you can carry. Just one bag. I’ll pack food." Lina says as she walks off to our kitchen. 

"Got it." I say as I stand. 

Lina suddenly turns around to me with a raised finger pointed directly at my soul. "I mean it Lua! We have to travel light. Just one bag, only the essentials!" 

I throw my hands up defensively. "Ok, ok, just one bag. Sheesh!" I roll my eyes as I walk past her to my room. Who does she think I am? I can pack light. I'll just take the bare essentials. 

I pull my suitcase from under my bed, and open it on the floor in the middle of my room. I take a good long look around. If I have to pack light, I need to make smart decisions. 

With my mind made up, I first head over to my vanity. I pull the drawers out and begin emptying my makeup into my suitcase. Primer, foundation, regular powder, translucent powder, 2 highlighter compacts, a liquid highlighter, 2 shades of contour, one contouring cream, 4 shades of blush, 2 eye pallets, 2 eyeliner pens, 2 mascaras, a tube of eyebrow gel, an eyebrow pencil, a pencil sharpener, concealer, setting spray, tinted sunscreen, makeup remover, eye makeup remover, face cleanser, night lotion, day lotion, a couple hydration masks, a kilo or two of brushes, my smallest case of glitter, and only 2 dozen of my favorite nail polishes. There! Just the essentials. 

Now clothes next. I walk over to my closet and open it, taking a long look at my expansive collection of colorful dresses. Ok, this is going to be difficult….

I nearly have my suitcase filled as Lina bursts into my room. "Ok, I got some food packed up. Are you ready?"

Lina froze, staring at my giant one hundred and five litre sized suitcase overflowing with clothes in the middle of my floor. Her brow furrows as she places her hands on her hips. "Lua, what is that?" She asks.

"It's my suitcase, I'm almost done. I'm just trying to pick out my last few sundresses I wanna take." I smile up at my friend. 

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Lina crosses her arms. "No." 

"No?" I ask, confused. 

"No. I said pack light, Lua. You can't take this." She walks over to my suitcase and starts throwing clothes over her shoulder back into my closet. 

"Hey! Stop that!" I run over and tug on her giant arm, but can't budge it.

"What even is this? These are all sundresses! Is that makeup?! Oh my god! This is all makeup!" Lina picks my giant suitcase up and dumps its contents on my bed. 

"Lina, I need that!" I plead. 

Lina takes a deep breath, and places her hands on my shoulders. "Lua, you can't take this. This is not light, not at all."

Lina walks to my closet and pulls out my small designer leather backpack. "Here, fill this. No makeup, and only two sundresses! Also take pants, a good jacket, shoes you can hike and run in, a towel, toiletries, and a blanket. Oh and put on your wetsuit, and wear all black over it." She tosses me the backpack and walks back out of my room. 

"Just two dresses?! Linnnaaaa!" I shout back at her. 

"Two!" She shouts from our living room. 

Wow, so much for letting me have my autonomy. What a meanie. What a cruel, heartless, mean, big, strong, ridiculously beautiful, muscly, mean vampire! I plop down on my pile of clothes with a huff. How can I pick just two sundresses? 

After 20 minutes of intense deliberation, and only 10 or 15 minutes of crying, I place a thick wool blanket into my bag, finishing my packing. I ended up choosing a tiny red lace backless dress from my favorite Italian designer, and my oldest dress, a blue one with an asymmetric shifting skirt and a pink and purple floral pattern. It used to be the only one I owned. It's simple, cheap, and has a big tear in the middle, but it's still wearable. It's the dress I was wearing when Lina found me on the street outside the pastelaria, after the orphanage discovered my magic and kicked me out. I don't wear it much anymore, but it's my favorite dress, and I'm taking it! 

I latch the buckles on my backpack, and hide a small bottle of tinted sunscreen in the side pocket. I struggle into my tight diver’s wetsuit, and slip a black sweater over it. I put on a pair of black ankle boots with a small heel, grab Tiamat, and make my way out to the living room.

Lina is waiting for me with clear suspicion in her eyes. She's dressed in black leggings, black army boots, and a thin, tight black turtleneck with her hair in a tight bun. She grabs my pack, and digs through it, inspecting my packing. Once satisfied, she pushes the contents down, and places 2 cans of beans, a bag of rice, and a litre bottle of water on top. With one last shove she barely manages to squeeze it closed. She puts it back on my shoulder, then pulls me into a tight hug. 

"I'm sorry, I know that was difficult for you." She says softly into my ear. 

I can't help but let a few more tears fall, as I place my head into the crook of her neck. "It's ok, I'll be fine." I say with a small sniffle. 

"Will we be able to come back?" I ask. 

Lina shoulders her own bag and turns to look at our cozy little apartment. I stand next to her, and take in the nighttime Lisbon view from our window one last time. 

"I don't know." She turns to look me in the eyes. "I hope so." 

Lina takes my hand in hers. "You ready?" She asks. 

I sniffle, and nod. We turn together, and walk down our stairs to the door. With Tiamat in one hand, and my vampire in my other, I step out of the only true home I ever knew, and into the light of the waning gibbous moon.

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