It felt like one day Ginny walked into the nursery, and all three of the babies had become toddlers. But that was the way life moved - forward. As much as she didn't want to stuff the house with kids, it was more and more clear that she would have to find a new father soon if her task was to be completed before her death. And who knew how much longer she'd remain this young?


Callisto inherited her father's unique eyes. She didn't seem to have any vision problems, but Ginny worried regardless.


Comet aged handsomely into his blue skin. He seemed to have an early talent for music, if his insistent banging on the xylophone was anything to go by, but he was also the moodiest of the three, throwing fits which Joon not-so-lovingly called his "artistic temperaments".


Little Cloud proved to be the spitting image of her father, sans the baldness - something Ginny hoped would stay true for all three of her children. She was very curious about the world around her, and grasped onto  basic skills much earlier than her other two siblings, but was disadvantaged by her collicky temperment. This, paired with Comet's constant screaming fits, kept Ginny up for far longer than she would have liked to be.

Somewhere, in between all of the madness, Joon found a way to slip into the night at the end of it all. Somewhere along the way, Ginny found out. She didn't ask what he was doing. He never volunteered that information. Her nights became restless, and not because of her children. Something was bubbling underneath the surface of her skin, hot and itchy, that plagued her days and nights. They talked lately only if it were matters concerning the children, as if the relationship between them had been long absent.

It all came to a head in the next week. He entered her room without provocation, walking past her and to the window. There was silence as the two struggled to determine who would speak first. He must have known that she was up - which meant he had known that she wasn't sleeping, and had done nothing. Ginny wiped away a few tears, and immediately felt worse. She was acting like a child.



"So." Joon started with the most basic words he could muster. It was better than the quiet. The house had long fallen asleep. Ginny should have, too.

"How long is it going to be like this?" she asked, not bothering to turn around. She didn't elaborate, but somehow, Joon seemed to understand.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have said something before letting it get to me."

"Ginny?"

She turned around, meeting him. "It bothers me how little I know about you. It bothers me more that you won't talk about yourself. Sneaking out at night, like you're hiding something.,,Being bound to you through the kids just isn't enough to put me at ease."


He walked over to her. The streets were empty, and he was sure Ios wasn't scraping around the bushes outside. It was safe.

"So you wish to know about me."

"Yes. And why you stay, even though Kolpia and Nix are long gone."

Joon sighed, but not out of irritation. He sounded tired. "It's not a pleasant tale."



"All the more reason for me to hear it."

Joon hesitated, then nodded. "Of course."

"When I was a young and foolish child," he began, "the Goddesses targeted me for a job. They lured me in with talk - talk of how special I was, how I was the link between saving the disgrace that had followed our species for so long. Naturally, I bought right into it. My job was a simple one - staying alive. They did not give me immortality, but something quite close to it - a lifetime about the same length of an actual Goddess'. In the meantime, I would wait until the Goddesses had need of me. And so I remained for thousands of years. Naturally, I couldn't stay around my tribe. It would be too suspicious if I didn't age, and eventually, they'd put two and two together. And who knew what the punishment for working with our sworn enemy would be? I didn't want to find out."



"So I found my way to Lunar Lakes, where other failed experiments of the Goddesses had gathered. I came in with good intentions - how else could I have entered? But soon enough, I wanted to lose myself, lose my purpose, in a day-to-day lifestyle. Truthfully, deep down, I was ashamed that I sided with...them. I drank, but never too much. I engaged in parties, but never too wholeheartedly. I took home women, but never too many. I lived like this for years, abusing my long life for folly. My loose lips revealed my near immortality, and from there, I allowed a lore to grow around me that I never disputed nor discussed - one that you might noticed has persisted to this day. Why do you think nobody bothers you?

But time has an effect on you. My body never caught up to the age I felt inside. The old man inside of me was tired of the nonsense. Sorting through my life brought up nothing worthwhile, even with all of the time I was given. By then, I had seen through the Goddess' spheal for what it was. And I missed my home. So I returned...but not before I received some surprising news. The Goddesses actually needed me for something. And that something was you. Once the details of your mission were revealed to me, I was assigned to protect and serve you at any cost. But I had a bit of time while waiting for your arrival. So I used it to find my old tribe, based on nothing but my instinct, local information, and memory. I was successful.

Naturally, the tribe was surprised, but quickly believed my story, once they determined I was right of mind." He coughed. "They weren't happy with my decision to aid the Goddesses, but accepted it - after all, I had been just a child when approached. It was just another example of the Goddesses' manipulation. We...had a discussion about what was to be done with you, Ginny. And I decided to stick with my job. It was for the best."


"The best for who?" she asked. "You, or me?"

"I care about you deeply," he responded, not exactly answering her question.

"A man shouldn't say things he doesn't mean," she said sadly. So he had only stayed because of the Goddesses. Not for her, not even for the kids. He was being held here by a promise. Ginny felt used, and worst of all, foolish.

"I am no man."

"Fine. An Aurib shouldn't say things he doesn't mean."

Joon shivered at the mention of his true name, and even Ginny felt a little sick saying it. But he shook it off.


"Ginny, I can't reveal all of my secrets to you at once. I don't want to worry or endanger you. But rest assured, everything I do - leaving, hiding - it's all for you and the kids. If I didn't care about you..." - he broke off, face sullen - "I would have refused the Goddess' job. I would rather let them kill me than stay on this planet a moment further, indulging in my legacy of disgust. But from the moment I heard your name, and your story, I knew...I just knew...I had to stay."

It was a convincing argument. Ginny just wished she could believe it. Joon shifted uncomfortably on the carpet, evidently waiting for her response. She almost didn't want to give him the security, to leave him hanging like he had to her for so long...

But she wasn't that cruel.

"Okay," Ginny nodded. "I believe you."

Joon smiled. She wondered if she had done the right thing, when he clearly had a long history of quite the opposite.

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