Fated & Starcrossed

Seeing for the first time

Luna had been on and off dating a man by the name of Malik .

Malik had extremely poor eating habits along with a list of other flaws that perpetuated his cantankerous cancerous existence on earth. Among being a closet energy vampire, and narcissist, Malik was a very insensitive person who treated Luna as if she didn't matter for years. Malik would also threaten to seperate monthly if not weekly, which is why she only" kind of had a boyfriend" as she told Vasillio in that brief exchange they had before he was yanked away from her preventing herself from smoothing over the words she kept playing over and over in her head. She didn't mean to be rude but she also sure as heck didn't mean to blurt out the word daddy either.

She ruminated on the man's aura and how he has nearly vanished both of the times she saw him. Now that she thought of it she had wondered how Vasillio had all of a sudden just been showing up in her day twice but never noticed him among the townsfolk before.he seemed quick witted not shy at all, and those out spoken sort of individuals are usually the type to be heard and seen in that little town.

She finished her meal and proceeded with her day knowing that the easy part of her day was over and had two retaining walls and a patio jobs to at least start on now.

Chapter two

…: Upon first sight, at the site of the job:...

Luna pulled her cart up to the address she had been given to work on a retaining wall. First thing Luna noticed as she began unloading her stuff was another vehicle harboring a set of work tools, similar to that of her own. She was wondering if she would be collaborating with some other contractors as she made her way around a pile of tools when she realized that the job had already been started. She threw her tools down in an aggressive haste, Vasillio had heard the sound of the tools thudding on the solid ground,he had also heard her breath between mutterings and knew it was about to go down. He was standing in a hole he had dug and was beginning to level out the dirt. At the moment Luna had drew a breath to speak Vasillio pivoted his weight on the handle of a shovel and proceeded leap upward with a 180° turn leaving him leaning toward into his landing which he balanced out by using all three of his appendages like a tail,rotating for a moment on the remaining foot that he'd landed on. As Vasillio pivoted towards Luna about to reveal his face she growled "who are you…you underbidding,**yellowtailed, belly-dragon" she rambled the insult, determined not to let up until she saw who he was.

Vasillio used the foot he had been standing on to kick over his head like a half flip half no handed cartwheel into the space between the two of them leaving him face to face with Luna Daze. Luna's eyes lit with a fury of rage and confusion when she realized it was the same guy that ran away from her now twice that very day.

Vasillio expecting to gracefully land and hopefully mildly startle whomever he was inevitably now going to encounter stumbled just a bit. He then replanted his feet giving strength to his posture allowing him to regain the proud stance commanding the attention of any spectator. Vasillio let out a low growl that he covered up by releasing a breath similar to that of an "ol man noise" or grunt. She looked him dead in the eye face to face, he quietly sniffed the air and looked her up and down as if he was assessing her threat as she stood before him.

His movement and mannerisms reminded her of Max, a k-9 companion she had in the years before. His aura now engulfing the two of them with hints of violet and plum swirled with different neon purple highlights. It was almost as if she could feel his aura as it surrounded her, and it felt familiar and comforting as the memory of her dear friend Max. Just then his aura smothered itself as that particular light show of the two conflicting yet coinciding auras quickly filled the space. Vasillio's aura danced on the energies, balancing the vibes or mood of that space and time. As Vasillio's aura changed so did his posture,breath, and mannerisms. He lost the animalistic like quality that he had just possessed in the moment. His eyes remained playful, still she somehow felt more comfortable while he was jumping around like a very trained acrobatic dog. It was as if he was asking himself right at the moment he was about to speak for permission,like he had in struggle manifesting within.

They both sighed again in unison which was the closest most effective form of communication that has worked for them in their brief encounters. It made them both relax just a bit before Vasi blurted out "hey I'm sorry about running away from you earlier" . Which time ?was Luna's reply. Just then his aura (the two coinciding patterns)took on a purple glow with the two previously mentioned aura's upfront,almost as if the purple provided background lighting.

Ohh! You saw me in the woods this morning he asked with a chuckle.

Before she could answer Vasillio went on to say yeah, I have a fur-baby that I can hear crying all throughout the village and sometimes if I don't get home soon enough it's like she has a giant fit and starts eating my house, literally Vasi said followed by another chuckle.

You can fix it! Luna said in a challenging tone. Yeah but I don't get paid for that, he said now staring daggers at Luna. She returned the intensity with "is that why you gotta go around stealing other people's jobs"? Maybe!, Vasillio spat out."Was that you that poached from me the big patio job behind Mrs Ragu's house? I was late getting started on that one and was informed that a pretty young lady under bid me by $100 and started two days before I could make it there. Oh yeah she said! Yeah! Vasillio said with an unrecognizable devious look in his eye, but there was something else. Luna saw the light reflect off of Vasillio's eye but not reflecting that of the high noon sun,it was the same color purple that his aura showed more and less prominently at random times apparently. Mrs. Ragu' lied! Vasi bellowed letting out all the bass in his voice he could muster to carry out his message. She said you were supposed to be a pretty little woman, Vasi said with an upward infliction in his voice as if it were in question. He let his words linger in the air long enough for Luna Daze to feel insulted.

Listen mutha-! Vasillio interrupted her what would inevitably be a profanity, "your beautiful" he told her in a low but confident tone.

Both of them took a deep breath and then sighed in unison together.

"Sorry", Vasi said in a now self conscious sounding voice as he looked away. Luna now already staring downward never noticed his brief display of self consciousness. Vasillio looked up to find Luna Daze looking so sad, such a look of despair. It almost brought a tear to Vasillio's eye. He wondered what could cause such a proud, beautiful, strong woman to humble herself before him now cowering as she stood. He now wondered because of the way she just had presented herself if she was aware how vulnerable she is making herself appear. None of this made Vasillio feel very confrontational anymore. Before Vasi knew his hand was moving it had already reached out to console Luna, by gently caressing her silky white skin on her cheek. When their skin met it wasn't electric, or like a shock that of static electricity either, but O.M.G. as the most juvenile of the mortals say. Their touch carried a charge indeed! In the three seconds that passed it was like being home for the first time. It was like going your whole life with blinders on and for the first time catching the pinks and oranges that blend across a blue sky at summers last sunset. If it were possible for mortals to hear angels signing Vasillio Knight was hearing their songs expressed through touch forever in a moment. Luna Daze gaze rose to meet Vasillio dead in the eye, much different from the daggers she had expressed through a look earlier. When they locked eyes this time they both melted inside in unison as they both exhaled. Vasi didn't mean to reach out like that, and it had been years since the passing of Vasillio's wife Vasi,had not even touched a woman since. He wondered if it was just the touch of any woman that had his every pleasure receptor working on overdrive, just from the contact of his hand upon Luna's soft supple skin. Whatever it was, it was like magic for both of them if only for a moment.

Luna finally gave way to a smile that made Vasillio blush, she had a spark in her eye that Vasi would later spend years trying to explain how and what exactly it makes him feel when she looks at him in that way. He started to pull away and she winced. Vasi didn't want to ever remove his hand from that connection that made him feel so confused, but it was an uncalled for gesture no matter how seductive this redheaded angel looked and he knew it. He let out a slight growl just before he pulled his hand back and a snort of frustration followed by him clearing his throat. Vasi spoke up with"hey I could really use the money and since you came all the way out, any chance we could just split the earnings? I'll buy you a mushroom tea afterwards if you do all the prep work so I can bring in the boulders" he then added.

Luna nodded in agreement holding back the urge to reprimand Vasillio for designating her the grunt work. She wondered if it was because she was a woman and he was trying to appease his own chauvinistic qualities by offering to do what he must consider the man's work. She was fully capable of slinging the boulders for the wall but her pride didn't outweigh the fact that moving the boulders was indeed a tough job for any woman or man. And she didn't even see them nearby so moving them would be quite a task knowing that because of the landscape you could not fit any worthwhile machinery in there to transport the heavy materials. Since the great E.M.P. whipping out anything with a chip made machinery hard to come by. The great remaining backlash of the solar E.M.P. lingered in Earth's atmosphere making most electronic devices finicky on a good day. This pushed our technologies back to the time before cars,cell phones, and all sorts of other distractions. The lack of usable machinery made the use of animals and natural resources much more a necessity, technology propelled earthly beings away from this way of life for the better part of this millennium. We have watched man use the earth's creatures as well as plants and other resources only to be mistreated and cast to the side.when human beings find a new way of making things easier, faster, or making things " better" scoff I say! It's funny how mortals used to say things in their vows like "for better or for worse" for worse is all we usually see. After the great shift the earth began to heal itself as it tends to do, with all the factories that were run by fried motherboards and countless other mechanical polluters unusable. People began to live off the land more out of necessity. Fishing,hunting and gathering has become a necessary component in people's lives once again and it's good for them, but humans openly disregard anything that's good for them beyond momentary pleasures. This great shift was a gift brought to them by the gods. Along with the earth being able to heal itself people doing things more, getting out more and being more productive has healed the part of the human race that was scarred by the dependency the machines we created offered humans. This dependency caused a downward spiral into depression,disparity,and unfulfilling anxious lives. Joyless living. That work until you die so your kids can grow up and do the same way if being. This mentality is slowly stifling how beautiful and productive the human race could possibly evolve into.

The two worked well together but in separate areas at separate times with not much conversation. Luna began to wonder if he was gonna try to ask her out on an actual date, if she hadn't scared him off by accusing him of poaching jobs. She peaked over her shoulder at times catching a peak at Vasillio's shoulders and arms and he worked the shovel into the earth. He seemed so unaware of her presence and appeared to be lost in his work. She racked her brain beginning to think she may have imagined him calling her beautiful. Still no boulders though,she thought to herself. Vasi dropped the shovel and started making a sort of squeal sound supported by a series of clicks and whistles he made with his mouth and hands clasped together. Just then the earth trembled as if it were about to move. Sand made way for the path to produce as if something were burrowing through from the ground up. Four brown vine-like whips crept up from the dirt as if they'd been there the whole time. At the center of the whips the dirt continued to rise until it started to reveal a very large dragon-like creature. The creature stood on four legs with a scorpion-like tail and four vines that were used like appendages grew from the spot on its back where you'd expect to see wings on a dragon. The large beast began producing boulders from the ground from which it came. It's four now arm-like vines effortlessly lifting and then placing the boulders in a somewhat neat pile between Vasillio and the trench he had been digging. Luna had seen some ground dragons pull a cart or carry loads before but not without the coaxing of a whip and they are all still pretty defiant at that. Luna reached to her side reminding herself that her kunai and chain remained holstered just in case this beast who was ever so helpful decided to get rowdy. Vasillio seemed not only unaffected by the threat of the dragons typical unpredictability but turned his back to it and continued working as the dragon did its job heaving boulders that if tossed carelessly could very well end Vasi right on the spot. Vasillio caught the look on Luna's face and called out to her he's alright, he's a big baby! I've known him since he was little, he helps me sometimes and I feed him whatever he wants which is usually just my fine herb stash, Vasi's eyes smiled as he spoke.

…::!Malik's malicious intent!::...

The day progressed along rather quickly in near silence but it was a comfortable quiet that Luna was not used to. Any time Luna had spent in silence with Malik had been spent in fear awaiting whatever the next fight he would pick would be. Malik used confrontation in a way with Luna that bordered mind control, always leaving her wondering how she agreed to always getting the short end of the stick. Always leading Luna to blame herself for Malik's mistakes and mishaps. Although Luna had a backbone she was also aware that she sometimes has too much and Malik would say things to get her to raise her voice, and then make her feel like she was wrong for playing into it. He would make her feel bad and use guilt in ways that only a prideless, weak, petty human could allow themself to do. He would pick at her every movement slowly over time convincing her that nothing she ever did was good enough. That made Luna only try to accommodate more while Malik did less and less, playing off of a couple false nice words and evenings he'd shared with her in the beginning of their unofficial relationship. He slowly cut her off from her own self confidence as well as turning every friend and family relationship upside down. Leaving her nowhere else to turn when he was always somehow behind her grief in the first place. Malik had begun to think of Luna as his property and deep down she knew it but couldn't bring herself to say enough is enough. She wondered if Malik had been laying with women from his past that often just seemed to pop up. He would never admit to his promiscuity even though they hadn't been exclusive for most of their time spent on his own request.

Like a bad storm rolling in the barometric pressure seemed to drop just as Luna's heart did the same upon the site of Malik. He had somehow found out where she was working for the day. Luna often wondered how he did that as if he followed her around all the time and popped out just when it was time to poop on her parade, usually and inconveniently when she was talking to a person of the opposite s*x. Vasillio caught Malik by the eye and went back to work. He couldn't hear much over the large reptile heaving boulders so close to him. But he could hear tones and he did not like what he heard. He saw Luna's face a moment later and she looked like she was about to start crying mixed with fear.

Malik continued to shout making Luna wince at the emphasis on certain syllables and that's all Vasillio could still make out. He kept busy but now kept stopping to look and make sure the woman he had just met was gonna be ok. He caught moments of rage building up in Malik's eyes as he tore into her, this made Vasillio uneasy. Vasillio hated to see anybody being picked on and that was what appeared to be from a muffled distance. Malik's rage filled glare crossed paths with Vasillio's just before he reared back as if he was about to strike Luna sitting on the ground before him. That was it! Vasillio has made the decision to get involved especially if this man was going to intentionally hurt this sassy yet sweet hardworking young lady. Vasi leaped for her clearing the giant hole and a wheel barrow gracefully into a forward roll clearing the space between them in an instant looking upward and dodging an elbow as Luna c****d an arm back to swing, what! How did the two switch positions so fast leaving Malik on the ground cowering like the garbage person that he was? Well it happened fast even for my eyes but he did indeed try to strike luna, but just at the moment Vasillio sprung into action so did Luna grabbing Malik's hand proceeding to throw him by it and then twisting it leaving him in pain kneeling before her. She must've noticed Vasillio standing right behind her because she twisted her arm and her body putting Vasillio's head underneath her armpit like a backwards headlock. Vasillio rolled backwards pulling Luna down on top of him into the roll with Vasillio springing to his feet only to be caught by the ankle, Luna pulled his foot right out from underneath him. Vasillio fell back on top of Malik who had stopped yelling at Luna in a threatening way,and was pleading with her about something before Vasillio crashed down hysterically on top of him. Luna yelled I'm sorry three times in succession so fast that the whole thing really tickled Vasi's funny bone. She had morphed from a sweetheart to a fierce warrior and back again almost in the blink of an eye he thought.

Vasillio continued laughing grasping for footing as he stood up using Malik as a stool fittingly but accidentally. Luna apologized two more unneeded times and then stared at the ground as if she was about to be scolded by an abusive parent. Vasi knew that look from his rough upbringing having many many run-ins with the law growing up. Malik started telling Vasillio "I understand if you want to report her to the authorities" followed by " see Luna you done got yourself in a mess again".

Hold up a minute,Vasillio said. Weren't you just yelling at her like you were gonna start something with her first? He then added it looked like you were about to strike my co-worker here and daddy ain't havin' that, Vasillio said with a certainty. Malik then chimed in with " me? it's her, she's the one with a criminal record, always brawling with anybody who calls her weak". "Really" Vasi said, sounding more pleased and intrigued than detoured from the way he sees Luna already. Vasi said "look dude" and was about to say more contesting the way Malik was trying to make the situation appear. Vasi looked over at Luna still looking scared and now ashamed and decided it didn't matter." Hey I get it, I don't like being snuck up on either especially in that type of scenario, whatever you two had going on". "Hey I got an idea," Malik said in a cheesy voice,Vasi never looked over at Malik still trying to understand the situation that he thought he was seeing switched up so fast. One moment it seemed like a man was about to strike another person,his partner of all people in public and the next she held his twisted arm as he bowed to her in pain. None the less no matter what had happened he knew he didn't trust that guy." Why don't we all go grab a bite to eat after y'all finish up" Malik offered. Even though Vasi rarely passed up a free meal he was hesitant, everything in Vasi's gut was screaming don't trust this guy, but why did Luna? Vasi looked at Luna who was already smiling at him and forgot everything else but that smile, and that moment, in space and time.

...••∆Feed a beast, make a friend. Even a friendly beast is a beast in the end.∆••...

Vasi's other Other beast.

LUNA DAZE and VASILLIO KNIGHT spent the rest of their day mostly grunting and heaving boulders, now working together to place the large stones in alignment to form the retaining wall. even though bricks and pavers are very efficient, Vasillio like using the natural uncut boulders giving it a more natural authentic look. As the sun started to settle in the sky Malik had already seemed to disappear after having offered to buy everybody some food after a long days work. when it was apparent that Malik had left at the site of hard work being preformed, Vasillio started to poke around in the way that an interested single person would do to inquire whether or not Luna was dating or single. "What's the deal with that guy Malavoy or marmalade or whatever?" Vasillio asked his very work partner for the day. Vasillio didn't usually converse while working with most people, and avoided situations where he'd have to do so. LUNA laughed as she asked " what'a ya'mean, Malik?". she then let out a laugh that made Vasillio snap his head in her direction. Just the sound of her voice was enough to make Vasillio's shoulders relax a bit, as well as his whole body and posture. "Yeah I don't know why we're even together, I guess we're just two broken people and that somehow just fits" she said in a remorseful sounding way. Luna went on to say " he can't keep a job or a friend", she went on saying how he's only nice to people when he sees something he wants from them. "He's like that with everybody" she said except me and i guess that's why he keeps me around, she almost whispered as she dropped her gaze downward again, unable to meet Vasillio's look of concern. Vasillio straightened up as he asked LUNA "why do you keep him around then?". Luna looked him in the eye, her eyes held a lot of pain and looked as if they were about to be holding back tears as well. she started to mouth words that never came. she fakes a smile and then went back into the cold silence that she spent most of her days, internally compartmentalizing all of her fears and sorrows. Although the had been working together the better part of a day, the near silence was spent as a pleasant experience.

Vasillio felt the change in Luna, and sniffed the air quietly in the way he did upon meeting her. He did not like even being next to people when they were going through emotional pain, and it was visually obvious that where ever Luna's mind was wondering to was causing her great emotional stress and pain. Vasillio is very much an empath but in denial.