#[Moonlit Zircon - Selune - Chang'E]

[funnel-webbed-au]

Lunar Tides and the Price of Sanctity

Chang'E opened the door of her home and took a deep breath of the cold lunar air. There were some perks to living on the moon, and one of them was the almost eternally unbroken silence that the stars had to offer. Today, however, was an exception to this rule.

She smelled blood, and it made her veins run cold. Someone was there, and they were likely hurt. It wasn't unusual for certain Deities to be wounded in their lines of work; the scent made her spine tingle, regardless. As Chang'E followed the smell of blood and the trail of powerful magic that hung in the air, she found strange flowers blooming on the moonrock, where life shouldn't have been able to grow.

Her interest piqued, the Goddess of the Moon kneeled down to examine the flowers, and soon discovered that each one was sprouting from a tiny pool of ichor, the blood of another Deity. The colored tints on the petals made her heart skip a beat. They were pink, which reminded her of... no. It couldn't be.

She picked up the pace, and soon discovered that one of her closest friends was washing severe injuries in one of the ponds around her garden. She had mixed feelings about that, for on one hand, his ichor would nourish her garden, and on the other... hiding himself away like this wasn't healthy, and they both knew it.

Every drop of the Grand Marshal's golden ichor brought clarity to the water. Perhaps it was a cruel joke from the one who had granted his wish for a new life; perhaps it was simply tied to his powers as a nature Deity. Whatever the case was, his golden ichor turned the water from a soft grayish hue to a shining, translucent teal. The potent magic that filled the water would fuel Chang'E's garden for a long time.

...but nothing was worth the price of another's happiness.

The Goddess of the Moon approached the Central Altar Marshal, resting her hand on his shoulder. His muscles clenched, and he turned to her fast enough to startle the goddess, who fell backwards onto the gray rock sheet beneath them both.

A deep sigh escaped from the ancient Deity. He'd never meant to scare her, he never wanted to hurt anyone. Yet, it was all he was good at, or so he thought. He watched with interest as Chang'E disappeared into her home. She was leaving him; who wouldn't?

What caught him off guard next was when she came back.

The goddess had returned with a first aid kit, and as Nezha's eyes widened, she began to treat his wounds. It was a small gesture of kindness that caused the tension in his shoulders to evaporate. Even though his wounds wouldn't take too long to heal, Chang'E was still taking time out of her day, and maybe her livestream cooking show, to take care of him.

It was honoring, really, and reminded him that his few friends truly did love him.