3 Crescent Moon

"What? You left your home willingly? But why?" Chang'e gaped, staring at her white-haired companion in bewilderment.

Harith nodded. "Well, magic is my life. I've been able to do magic since I was born. I remember my mother telling me that the moment I was born, I had cried and created a burst of purple-blue magic," he says. "But the people in my village — in the Enchanted Forest — didn't think the same way.

"They began to stagnate — in magic, I mean. My people, the Leonins, were content with what they had and believed that no danger would ever come to them. Thus, the practice of the magical arts began to slow and decline."

"The magic academy was out of syllabus, always using old magic tricks and never inventing newer and better skills. Always, always, always staying the same, never changing."

"Through the years, I rose through the ranks of the magic academy very quickly, and soon enough at twelve years old I had become the most powerful mage among the Leonins."

Harith let out a sigh. Crossing his hands behind his head, he continued, "I couldn't stay in the village. Not if they continued to waste away their magic. So, when I finally mastered the three skills I created, I left the Enchanted Forest for the first time ever at the age of fifteen."

Harith paused in thought before he hummed, "I guess it's because I've never been anywhere but the Enchanted Forest that I got lost and somehow stumbled upon you and that absolutely crazy werewolf."

Chang'e giggled. Harith got lost too! For someone who carried himself with such an air of confidence and a touch of arrogance, him admitting that he lost his way was amusing to her.

Upon hearing her laughter, Harith scowled. "What's so funny?" he demanded. "You got lost too, you know. Pot calling the kettle black and all that. In fact, you should be grovelling at my feet, thanking me for saving your sad, sad life. Like this."

Harith got down on both knees into a seiza position and started waving his hands around while bobbing up and down.

"Pft — " Chang'e couldn't help it. His actions were stupidly entertaining and he looked so much like a pigeon doing that. Peals of laughter tumbled from her small rosy lips, and she nearly slipped off her Crescent Moon with how hard she was laughing.

Meanwhile, the Harith's laughter faded away when he stared enraptured by Chang'e. When Chang'e laughed, it sounded like a donkey's bray. But her laugh wasn't why his attention was caught.

No, it was the way the sunlight caught in her brown hair, turning it a shade of brown, red, orange and gold, much like the colourful leaves of autumn.

It was the way her smile lit up her entire face, making her seem ten times lovelier. It was the way the corners of her eyes crinkled and her eyes curved into little crescent moons until you could barely see their honey-brown colour.

It was the way she laughed and smiled and showed her happiness wholeheartedly on her face that she was practically glowing; he was captivated.

Then the moment ended when Carrots flicked his ears across Harith's face, effectively snapping him out of his… observation. Yes, he thought to himself, he was just observing the way she laughed and smiled and her eyes and—

He really needed to stop thinking about this.

Chang'e's laughs died down after a while but a small smile still remained on her lips.

"You're pretty funny, you know," she tells Harith with a little bunny grin. Harith rolled his eyes and motioned for her to continue walking.

"Annoying kid," he mutters under his breath without any real heat.

Chang'e slapped his arm in mock anger and said pompously, "I'm amazing and you know it. Just admit it Harith. You're no match for my awesomenessness."

Harith arched an eyebrow at Chang'e. "Uh huh, right. How could I forget? Clearly, you are the most superior in the entire Land of Dawn. Forgive me for my insolence, your majesty!" Saying this, Harith clasped his hands together and batted his eyes at Chang'e. This time, it was Chang'e who rolled her eyes at his ridiculous antics.

"Also, awesomenessness isn't a word," Harith smirked at Chang'e. "Who's the most superior now? Me, of course."

Chang'e huffed in annoyance. "Let's just get going already. We've been walking for hours and played so many rounds of twenty questions, yet there's not a single village or even a hut in sight. Are you sure you know where you're going?" Chang'e glared suspiciously at Harith.

Said feline boy facepalmed himself. "We've been walking for hours, and you only ask now?" Harith looked incredulously at Chang'e. Even Carrots expressed his disappointment by looking very unamusedly at his mistress and tapping his legs in annoyance.

Chang'e at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "W-well sorry! In case you forgot, we were literally just running for our lives a few hours ago, trying to not get ripped into shreds by Roger the werewolf so forgive me for not having a clear enough mind to think logically of our next step." Chang'e harrumphed indignantly.

Both Carrots and Harith continued to stare at Chang'e with an unchanging sceptical expression. Seeing this, Chang'e threw up her arms in exasperation.

"I give up! There's no point arguing or trying to defend myself. Can we just get a move on already? I really, really, need a nice hot soak in a hot tub."

Harith sighed for the third time. "That's what I've been saying all the while but you didn't listen."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just go already." Chang'e brushed off his complaints easily. The twenty rounds of twenty questions helped tremendously in letting them get to know each other so well in less than a day. Of course, the near-death experience helped too, but let's think of happier thoughts.

Hours went by and the blazing sun began to set. The clouds blocked the sun's rays, turning the sky darker and it gradually became to look like a painting of orange, pink, blue and purple all blended perfectly together.

By the time they found a village, the sky had completely set and the stars were up and twinkling in the night sky.

The pair were too exhausted to hold a conversation out loud. Instead, they wordlessly communicated to immediately head for an inn where they could have a much-needed shower and then go to bed.

"One room, two single beds please." Harith yawned. As if taking pity on their exhaustion, the receptionist quickly handed Harith the room keys and bid them a good night.

Chang'e was so worn-out that she fell asleep in the bathtub, only to jerk awake when another guest pounded on the door for her to "hurry up and get out! I need a shower too!"

By the time the two of them had showered, they were practically dragging themselves into bed. The moment their heads touched their pillows, they fell into a deep slumber.

Harith was the first to wake up with the rising sun. Since he was young, he was told to wake up when the sun did to attend the magic academy or practice his magic. The Leonins didn't do that anymore, though. Now they woke up anytime they wanted to.

Rubbing away any traces of sleep, Harith leapt out of bed and began rummaging through his satchel for his morning essentials. Chang'e, on the other hand, was still in a deep sleep along with Carrots. She was hugging Carrots close to her body while her Crescent Moon laid upright at her bedside. Harith thought that her sleeping face was adorable.

Frowning at the strange thought, he decided that he was clearly not awake enough and set off to the bathroom to freshen up.

When Chang'e had finally woken up, Harith was back in the room. He was drumming his fingers absently on the window sill, staring out the window lost in his thoughts. He snapped out of his reverie when Chang'e let out a contented sigh after stretching.

"Go freshen up. The inn head said that breakfast would be served soon," Harith said. "You too, Carrots."

Said Moon Rabbit had leapt up onto Chang'e's delicate shoulders after she had finished stretching. Chang'e and Carrots made their way to the bathroom, leaving Harith alone in the room. With the Crescent Moon.

"It's just me and you, buddy," Harith grins to himself. Even from a distance, he could feel the magic thrumming through the Crescent Moon. Harith was very curious about the magical object Chang'e always brought with her.

Giving in to his curiosity, Harith walked to the Crescent Moon and leaned in to inspect it. The Crescent Moon had carvings of gold wrapping around the lower body and the two ends of the Crescent Moon seemed to glow faintly with magic. The amount of power held in that magical object was enough to get anyone high on magic.

Harith couldn't help himself. Somehow, he found himself reaching out a hand to the Crescent Moon, wanting to touch the magical object. The tips of his fingers brushed the object for a brief second and he could feel the magic on his fingers—

The door to the room burst open.

"HARITH! The head of the inn is sososososo nice! She gave me a free — what are you doing?" Chang'e furrowed her brows in suspicion at Harith. Harith who was currently pressing his hands to his chest and staring wide-eyed at Chang'e. She noticed his tail was standing up straight.

"What is it? Why are you acting so weird?" Chang'e took a step back towards the door. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I need to step out so that I don't get infected by your weirdness?" Chang'e crossed her arms defensively. Carrots copied her actions.

Harith shook his head. "No. No, it's fine. I'm fine. We're fine. Yep. Fine."

Chang'e wasn't convinced but she stepped back into the room either way, still eyeing Harith strangely.

Harith ran a hand through his hair and let out a huff. Then, he pointed accusingly at her Crescent Moon. "What," he began, "Is that? I literally brushed the thing with my fingers and was almost overloaded with magic!"

Chang'e raised an eyebrow. "Who said you could touch my things?"

"That's not the point!" Harith groaned.

"Well, the Crescent Moon is a divine magical object. Of course, it would be crazy powerful," she emphasised the word 'divine'.

Glowering at Chang'e for not exactly answering his question, he began to pack his things back into his satchel.

"Wait, are we leaving already?" Chang'e asked.

"Yeah. I want to reach the capital of the Land of Dawn as quickly as possible. I'm going to join the army. The human one, that is." Harith said as he continued to pack.

"Oh… I'm actually looking for my brother Zilong. I was supposed to assist him in his battles when my master sent me away…" Chang'e trailed off, suddenly thinking of how much she missed the Great Dragon who was like a father to her. So what if he sent her away? She still missed that great oaf of a master.

"He sent you away? Why?" Harith asked, puzzled. "Also, why would he ask you to fight? Aren't you too young?"

Chang'e sighed. "It's a long story which I can tell you while we make our way to the capital. But for your information, I'm plenty old enough. Also, I'm immortal. I say I'm fourteen years old as of now, but I'm actually a hundred and fourteen. Which is technically teenage years for an immortal." Chang'e explained. "It's complicated."

"Of course it is," Harith mumbled sarcastically. Chang'e pretended not to hear him. Instead, she scooped up the room keys and her Crescent Moon and headed out the door.

"I'll return the keys first and meet you downstairs outside the inn. If you take too long, I'm leaving without you." With a swish of her robes, she disappeared down the hall.

Harith hurriedly packed up, unwilling to be left behind. He slung his satchel across his back and dashed down the stairs.

Chang'e was already out the entrance of the inn by the time he arrived.

"Ready?" Harith grinned at Chang'e.

Chang'e smirked at Harith. "Been ready before you. Catch up if you can!" With a laugh, she sped away, flinging magic dust into the Leonin's eyes.

"Hey, that's cheating!" With a burst of speed, the Leonin dashed after the Moon Palace Immortal.

With that, the two of them began the trek to the Land of Dawn's capital.