While Luna was spiraling into existential confusion, Leona’s expression shifted slightly.
A shaful thought occurred to her. Sothing about last night.
She glanced around carefully, making sure no other elves were within earshot. Then, moving with deliberate casualness, she stepped closer to her daughter until they were standing side by side.
"Luna." She whispered, her breath warm against her daughter’s ear. "Can I ask you sothing? It might sound strange, but I really need to know."
Luna’s entire body went rigid.
Her mother was close. Whispering in her ear. This had never happened before.
In her entire life, her mother had never spoken in such an intimate tone. Every nerve ending in Luna’s body tingled with overwhelming excitent.
"Y-Yes!" The word ca out in a chanical squeak. "Anything! Ask anything!"
Leona glanced left. Glanced right. Ensured no one was listening.
Then, her voice dropping even lower, she asked,
"Last night...those moans that spread through the entire forest..."
She hesitated, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"Were those...were those your moans?"
Luna felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.
Her entire body went cold. Then hot. Then cold again.
"You...You heard those?!" The words ca out strangled, horrified.
Leona nodded shyly, her blush deepening.
"Of course. It was impossible not to hear them. They echoed everywhere. I even tried covering my ears with pillows, but..."
She trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"They were so loud, Luna. So...persistent."
Luna’s vision swam. Her mother had heard her. Her mother had listened to her screaming in pleasure all night long.
This was it. This was the most mortifying mont of her entire existence.
But through the horror, a tiny part of her brain forced out a question.
"Why...Why would you think it was ? Of all the elves in the village, why ask ?"
Leona’s blush intensified. She fidgeted with her hands, looking anywhere but at her daughter.
"It’s just...while I was listening to those noises, sothing about them...reminded of your voice."
She finally t Luna’s eyes, her gaze soft and sohow fond.
"It was very high-pitched, and it was echoing, so I couldn’t be certain. But in my heart, I just...I imdiately thought of you."
Luna’s heart stopped.
Then restarted at twice its normal speed.
Her mother had recognized her voice. From just moans alone.
She had listened so carefully, so intently, that she had picked out her daughter’s voice from the cacophony of pleasure echoing through the village.
No one else had managed that. The other elves were all confused, pointing fingers at everyone but her.
But her mother—her cold, distant, supposedly uncaring mother had known imdiately.
Tears pricked at Luna’s eyes.
This was the most embarrassing mont of her entire life. Absolutely, without question, the worst thing that had ever happened to her.
Knowing that her mother had heard every whimper, every scream, every desperate cry of "OH LUCA RIGHT THERE" was enough to make her want to dig a hole and never erge.
But at the sa ti...
Warmth blood in her chest. A deep, aching, beautiful warmth.
Because this proved it. This proved beyond any doubt that her mother loved her.
That despite years of cold silence, despite the walls between them, Leona still knew her daughter’s voice.
Still thought of her. Still cared enough to recognize her in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Luna wanted to cry. She wanted to hug her mother and never let go.
She wanted to tell her everything about how happy she was.
But first, she needed to cover this up.
She shook her head frantically, putting on her best performance of denial.
"No! No, Mother, absolutely not! That’s ridiculous!"
She laughed, but it ca out slightly hysterical.
"? Making those noises? With Luca? Of all people, I’m the last one who would do sothing like that!"
She repeated the other elves’ dismissal, hoping it would stick.
Leona’s face imdiately relaxed into visible relief.
"Oh, thank the spirits!" She pressed a hand to her heart. "Thank the spirits so much! I was so worried for a mont!"
She laughed softly, shaking her head.
"Of course, of course. I must have been overthinking it. There’s no way my daughter would do such a thing."
She looked at Luna with warm, affectionate eyes.
"After all, you’re MY daughter. My baby. My innocent little girl. You would never lose control like that. You’re much too—"
She stopped.
Realized what she had said.
Her face went bright red.
anwhile, Luna’s eyes went wide in deep shock.
"Mother..."
Her voice trembled with emotion.
"What did you just call ? What did you call right now?!"
Leona imdiately looked away, waving her hands dismissively.
"Nothing! Nothing at all! I didn’t say anything!"
But Luna wasn’t letting this go. Not now. Not ever.
"You did! You called your baby! Your baby girl! Please, Mother, say it again!"
She stepped forward, chasing after her retreating mother.
"Please! Just one more ti!"
Leona’s composure shattered completely. She turned and started walking away—quickly.
"It was nothing, Luna! Leave your mother alone!"
"Please! I just want to hear it once more! Just once!"
"No! Go bother soone else!"
"I’LL DO ANYTHING! JUST CALL YOUR BABY GIRL ONE MORE TI!"
"THIS IS HARASSNT! I’M BEING HARASSED BY MY OWN DAUGHTER!"
And so the morning continued in beautiful, absolute chaos.
Lulu still clung to her branch, sobbing and pleading with the bird.
"PLEASE! I’LL GIVE YOU MY ENTIRE CHICKEN COLLECTION! I’LL BUILD YOU A SHRINE! I’LL WORSHIP YOU AS A GODDESS!"
"JUST GIVE BACK THE MAGIC AT STICK!"
The bird, for its part, seed utterly unimpressed with these offerings.
It sat protectively on its nest, occasionally pecking in Lulu’s direction when she got too close.
Nearby, Nyx had escalated her assault on Luca’s pants.
She had sohow managed to pull his pants down while simultaneously trying to shove her hand down his underwear.
"I need visual confirmation! Auditory confirmation! Tactile confirmation!"
"I won’t be satisfied until I’ve held it in my hands and confird its existence myself!"
"Nyx, I swear to every god in every realm, if you don’t get off right now—"
"Yuu’ll what?! Punish ?! oh no, how terrible, please don’t punish , Hero! Please don’t spank my fat ass for being such a naughty girl!"
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively while continuing her assault.
Luca’s face was a masterpiece of frustration and embarrassnt.
anwhile, the trio of interrogators had moved on to terrorizing a new group of elves, demanding alibis and cross-referencing stories with the intensity of military investigators.
"WHERE WERE YOU BETWEEN THE HOURS OF MIDNIGHT AND DAWN?!"
"I WAS SLEEPING! LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
"SUSPICIOUS! VERY SUSPICIOUS! WRITE THAT DOWN!"
Luna on the other hand chased Leona through the clearing, her heart full to bursting with love and her mouth full of desperate pleas.
"MOTHER! PLEASE! JUST ONCE!"
"LEAVE ALONE! I’M GOING TO GO HIDE IN THE FOREST AND NEVER CO OUT!"
"YOU CAN’T HIDE FOREVER! I’LL FIND YOU!"
Leona disappeared into the treeline, Luna hot on her heels.
It was chaotic. It was absurd. It was absolutely ridiculous.
And sohow, it was an utterly harmonious scene that the villagers would never give up.
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