Oliver awoke the next day incredibly hungry. He had forgotten to eat, a bad habit he had picked up. Oliver picked himself out of bed and walked out into what he thought was going to be an empty house. He opened the creaking door, his entire body slumped and his eyes holding dark circles. The house was not empty, Luna jumped up and wrapped her arms around Oliver. In Luna’s sudden attack, Oliver was left bewildered. All that was running though his mind was confusion and a strange sense of comfort. Luna lets go as Oliver walks further into the living room. Charianne catches his eye but dare not look long. The oak tree had their reasons to be rude and he dare not give them another one. He turns to Luna, his back facing Charianne. “Want to learn more today?” Luna’s eyes lit up as she hopped up and down, her tail waving quickly.

  She squealed out, “YES!”. Oliver put on his reading glasses, grabbed a blank book, and picked up a quill and ink.

  “This is a notebook, use it to work out problems or to remember information.” He placed the notebook and the writing supplies besides Luna and sat little Luna down. “A notebook is important you know”

  “How important is it?” Luna asked back.

  “It is vital to your learning. Recalling information is important. One cannot be expected to memorize everything alone, so the book can act as an aid. Now let’s get started.” Oliver started going over what she already knew about math. “Let’s start simple. Basic addition.” Oliver pulled out a pouch of pebbles. “If I have 3 pebbles over here and 2 over here-”

  Oliver was merely enjoying Luna’s company and her bright mind when all of a sudden… CRAAAAAACK. Oliver immediately rose to attention. Was it the villagers? Not again. Or maybe it was something worse. He wouldn’t let Luna be hurt again, so He grabbed his spellbook and kept it close to him. And then Oliver saw Charianne on the floor next to a broken chair. He wasn’t sure what exactly happened but he would hazard a guess. It was retribution. He had hurt Charianne’s daughter, of course she would make a show of strength like that. Oliver deserved the broken chair, a reminder of what he almost did to Luna’s confidence with his harsh words. Why couldn’t he just be normal, Why did he have to be the weird guy in the woods that everyone seemed to hate. For too long the silence persisted. His face and heart dropped and he said nothing, knowing that even trying would most likely be pointless. Maybe the oak tree wasn’t the rude one at all. She has undoubtedly gone through so much and yet here he is, unable to reassure her. The words were right there and yet they didn’t come forth. How pitiful, he can say spells and yet words as simple as, “I am sorry,” or “It’ll be alright,” didn’t come to him. In his spiral, he didn’t even notice Luna chucking a book in his face.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Charianne peeked over, not wanting to see Oliver directly, but still curious at the way he was teaching. His teaching style seemed to grasp Luna more than she ever could. No matter how many times she explained it, she never could teach properly. Maybe she’d learn something or two. She kept peering over, she must have looked so suspicious but it wasn’t that much of a problem. Probably. It might not even be possible to look more suspicious than she already was. She leaned further and further back in her chair. Almost. Just another peak. CRAAAAAACK. Charianne tumbled from the chair as her back fell against the wooden floor, the books about doing nothing to cushion the blow. She fell straight onto her tail and let out a loud yelp in response. As she rolled her shoulders to fight off some of the pain, she noticed the chair she was sitting in was no longer a chair. It shattered into two pieces, splinters all about the floor. Charianne’s face and heart dropped. She already wasn’t the most pleasant guest, and now she just destroyed a chair. Her ears and tail drooped and she stayed silent. She looked up, expecting to find a look of anger on Oliver’s face, but she didn’t. She wanted to inspect further, but then his face was suddenly covered by a book with a loud, “GAUGH!”

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Luna was only kind of struggling with math. Although dreaded, Oliver’s instruction made it surprisingly simple. She counted out the pebbles laid out before her, drew counters in her notebook, almost getting an answer, but her racing thoughts were interrupted by a large CRAAAAAACK. She whipped her head and saw her mom on the floor. She rushed over, but it was like her mom didn’t even see her. Too wrapped up in the events that just transpired. She looked over at Oliver who was also staring blankly. Both of them were just…staring. She inspected them both, plenty of time to do so because they just kept staring like a rabbit who watched an arrow fly towards them. They’re eyes found any reason to look at anything but each other Luna’s mom snuffed and sneered at every opportunity, but sometimes Luna could catch her smile downturned as her ears and tail drooped. Luna knows that her mom wasn’t exactly the most social, always leaving before any real connection could be made, romantic or otherwise. She figured she could at least make a friend and yet they seemed to skitter at each other's presence and always kept their distance.. Luna wasn’t stupid, she’s seen the way her mom always kept an eye out or the way her tail would stand on end. Luna knows the way Oliver went to bed a little too quickly yesterday. And she thought she’d done all she could even as they seemed to drift further apart, pestering Oliver was the only way he seemed to smile in the short time she’s known him. Maybe doing it again would cause them to laugh and get along again. So she picked up a book and threw it square in Oliver’s face, with pinpoint accuracy and surprising speed and power for someone so young. It landed and Oliver let out a loud, “GAUGH!”

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  Yes, bingo. Everytime Luna does something, everyone can sit back and laugh. And yet, Luna was the only one giggling, her laughs slowly dying down as her eyes fell on both of their faces. She looked at both of them, who were now looking away from each other. “Ha! Mr. Oliver, you looked so funny!” A line sure to get a scolding from her mother or a chuckle from Oliver but there was still nothing. The silence was deafening, causing Luna’s ears to stand on end. Oliver's eyes and feet shifted away. Charianne’s hands massaged themselves as she held them close to her chest. Oliver pulled Luna back and they continued their lesson. Luna, despite where her mind was, tried to pay attention. Luna attempted to bring up magic, specifically when her next lesson was, but got a resounding “Eventually,” from Oliver.

  As it wrapped up, Oliver just left the room and retreated into his bedroom. Luna began to pace back and forth as her hands began to trace circles on her head as if to summon a plan forth. The sun began to rise to its apex as Luna still idly wandered around the cabin and still no sign of Oliver. Her fingers tapped against themselves on a rhythmic pattern. With a smirk that stretched to the corners of her face, she walked over to her mother. “MOMMA!”

  “GAH!” Charianne stumbled backwards as her ears stood straight on end. “What is it, dear?” Her hand clutched her heart as she cracked a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Can you talk to Mr. Oliver? He said he would teach me more, but he won’t say when…”

  “He may just be busy.”

  “Busy with what? He just reads all day!”

  “Dealing with certain issues.” Charianne’s voice turned high as her shoulders raised. Her eyes wandered away from Luna’s.

  “Please Mama!” Luna widened her eyes and suppressed a smirk as she moved to be in front of her mother.

  “Well, I-” Oliver’s door opened. In the corner of her eye, Luna saw Oliver’s hand covering his face. His chest raised and fell but seemed to stutter at irregular intervals. His hand fell from his face as the stuttering of his chest came to a halt. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, his steps clicked as he walked. He landed towering over Charianne, the light glinting off of his reading glasses.

  “Key.” He glared down, his palm open towards Charianne. Without saying a word, Charianne put an old rusty key into his hand, her ears drooped and she looked towards the floor with oh so many books. Luna looked between them, but before she could even say a word, Oliver grabbed the key and went into his room again, his glasses hiding his narrow eyes with beads of tears forming. Luna looked at the key as Oliver’s hand clenched around it as his arms moved parallel to his body, almost mechanical. As he closed the door, Luna looked once more at Oliver. Oliver's hand clenched in front of his heart as he looked down to the floorboards below and sighed under his breath. He grabbed the doorknob and the door swung close, the slight eek of the hinges being the only sound that punctuated the air. Luna looked back at her mom and… nothing. No smile, no frown, her ears don't stand on end nor did they droop. It was nothing. Or almost nothing. Although hard to decipher, Charianne’s head did hang lower along with her tail. Her eye drifted ever so slightly down, shifting left and right.

  Luna could do nothing but stand by. Except, Luna was never the type to stand by. She parked herself on a nearby chair and grabbed a random book off the ground. She parsed through, looking for any sign of magic and if she didn’t find one, she put the book down. If Oliver wasn’t going to teach her magic, she would do it herself. Maybe impressing him would get him to crawl out of his room. She picked and put down more books than she could count. Literally. She finally found a book on magic, but the words on the page made her head spin. She kept reading all the same. She would learn magic. She trailed her finger across the page and sounded out words she didn’t know. She drew pictures in her notebook in place of words, rudimentary diagrams of how magic in the body would work. Luna laid across the couch as the sun set in the sky. She kicked her legs in the air idly as she continued to utilize her notebook. She silently pronounced the words to herself, her tongue tumbling in on itself. She goes up to a nearby window and starts to try to cast, aiming her hand out the window.

  She starts to speak, her finger tracing over her diagrams.

  Thyella

  Páf-

  She suddenly stopped as her breath briefly ceased before resuming. Small coughs were punctuated by frantic scribbling in her notebook.

  Thyel-

  More coughs and more scribbling.

  Thyelo

  “Not even the right word.” She grabs her flask of water and starts drinking, her throat slightly expanding as the water slid down her throat. She sat down in the chair by the window, her hand laying on her heart as she felt her own racing heartbeat. She adjusted her diagrams, scribbling out certain words with the ink. She stood up and shook out her limbs and put her palm facing the window. “Alright, again.”

  Thyell..la

  P-

  Thyella

  Páf-

  Thyella

  Páfs-

  Thyella

  Páfsi!

  A gust of wind flew from her palm out into the evening air, the snow kicking up the air in a flurry. Luna hopped as her hair tousled and tangled on her ears, her smile shining as bright as a crescent moon, and whipped her head around to see her mom’s face, only to find she wasn’t looking up. She ran over to her mom and shook her, Charianne's entire body jostling back and forth. “Momma! Momma! I did it! I casted my first spell!”

  Only Charianne didn’t respond. Luna looked under her mom’s hair and saw her closed eyes. Luna chuckled to herself. “Silly Momma…” Luna pushed the chair Charianne was sleeping in over to the bed in their room. With each small push forward, Luna’s sweat beaded on their forehead. They gently grabbed at and massaged their throat.

  Oliver suddenly came out of his room silently and started cooking. “Great!” Luna’s smile turned wide. She was sure this was her moment. She could finally tell all about her first cast. Oliver was sure to teach her again then. Luna smirked to herself and tapped her fingers against themselves. Oliver finished making a soup, different from the type they had prior. Luna walked up to the table, bouncing up and down. Just as Luna sat at the table, he just took a bowl in his room without saying a word.