Page 60 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Stars

Dorin waited in line, as she had every day for the past three years, for a loaf of her favorite bread from the village baker. She had never needed food before she came to Domhan na Rùin, but it was one change she found she did not entirely loathe.

When it was her turn, she stepped up and gave the baker a polite smile. He had stopped trying to exchange pleasantries with her a long time ago, thankfully. Dorin didn't do well with pleasantries—it was a human custom to chat . She had learned to blend in in so many ways, but she didn't have enough of a life to chat about. She had no family to ask after, no real profession… she was just here.

With her bread procured, she turned to begin her walk back out to her cottage in the woods. She could have made her home anywhere, but she had fallen not too far from here, and leaving to find somewhere else seemed exhausting. She was stuck down here—she didn't particularly care where. This whole world was all the same to her.

She glanced up at the moon as she walked; its glowing surface was visible even in the morning light. Dorin wasn't sure how, but her sister had made it shine brighter constantly since Dorin fell.

Sometimes she almost missed her sister—but then, she remembered what Lunaya had done, and any tender feelings faded.

What Dorin missed more than anything else was her view of the stars and the endless expanse of the galaxy that had been her constant companion.

The mortals here knew of their gods, of course, but Dorin thought it was likely not often that one walked among them in mortal form. Not a single person had guessed who she was, but she'd taken care to avoid detection, though she doubted the goddess of the dark side of the moon was their most well-known deity.

She wanted more than anything to get back to her home on the moon, even if it meant facing her sister again. So, she waited and listened, hoping for any hint of where she might find one of her fellow gods who might help her. She knew they didn't take too active a role in the happenings of Domhan na Rùin, but the fact that she had been here for three years without even a whisper was starting to make her anxious. She thought, perhaps, she should start doing something to catch their notice.

Dorin’s thoughts were her focus as she walked through her familiar woods, the ancient twisted oaks and tiny brooks as recognizable to her now as the back of her hand. The canopy of lush green leaves obscured the sun's light, and the songbirds sang an orchestra of sound.

Soon, Dorin's tiny cottage came into view at the edge of a small clearing. She tried hard not to let herself get attached to it, but it was so cozy and full of little things she'd found that brought her joy. It had started to feel like home when she wasn't looking.

As Dorin approached her cottage, she felt a sense of awareness that she was not alone. Being cast down from the moon as a mortal had put a damper on her magic, but it had not left her completely. She found she had a sense of knowing down here, an understanding of when other beings were near her.

Her intuition told her to walk around to the garden out behind her cottage, so she set her bags down by her front door and carefully crept around to the back. The birds that usually filled her little corner of the forest had gone silent. Dorin made an effort to keep her steps quiet,listening for any hint of what she might find.

As she stepped up to the gate, she noticed a large portion of her garden was crushed. She kept that corner full of the flowers that normally grew here to encourage the bees to pollinate her other plants. A flare of annoyance hit her as she looked at them. There was no one there, though, so she scanned the rest of the garden.

A soft groan broke the silence, and Dorin's head whipped toward the direction of the sound. There on the ground, mostly covered by one of her blackberry bushes, was a person. A blue person. They were sprawled out and—to her horror—completely naked.

Dorin didn't take the time to fully observe them. Her anger was at the forefront of her mind; how dare this person trespass and crush her lovely flowers?

She nudged them with her foot, eliciting another groan. Her brow furrowed as she looked down at them. Strange patches of darker cerulean spotted their already unusual skin. Their hair matched, and they gave off the slightest glow in the shadow of the bush. They were… beautiful. Which only served to irritate Dorin further.

She kicked them. Not as hard as she would have liked, but decently hard. The person's eyes finally opened at that.

"Would you mind telling me what you’re doing destroying my garden?" Dorin asked before the person had a chance to speak.

"Huh?" The word came out as more of a groan as they sat up, propping themself on their elbows.

"What are you doing here?" Dorin asked, enunciating her words. She knew she was being a bit horrible, but she didn't care.

"Well, I… fell, I think," they said, their voice hoarse. They looked like they’d fallen, that was for certain.

"What were you doing all the way out here in the woods to begin with? You're miles from any of the taverns." Dorin sighed. "It doesn't matter. Could you please just go? And try not to crush any more of my flowers on your way out?" She prepared to turn her back on the trespasser, intending to go inside and take out her frustration by grinding up some herbs with her mortar and pestle.

As she began to step away, the stranger spoke again. "Wait! You're them!"

Dorin gave the person an exasperated look—what an odd thing to say to someone. No one on this entire planet really knew her, so whoever they thought she was, they were wrong. Dorin's gaze connected with theirs, and their eyes… they were otherworldly. It was as if an entire cosmos was contained in their eyes; they glowed like starlight. Their pupils were vertical slits that expanded the longer she stared at them. Those eyes reminded her of her home, the endless tides of space stretched out before her.

"I'm sorry, who are you exactly?" Dorin asked.

"I'm Neamhaí," the stranger said simply.

"Neamhaí," Dorin repeated, and the stranger smiled broadly at her, startling her by revealing two rows of very sharp, very non-mortal teeth.

"And you said you fell?" Dorin asked, trying to keep her focus together for long enough to get some answers.

"Yes. From space," they said simply.

Dorin's blood ran cold. Was this some assailant her sister had sent after her? Was banishing her from her home not enough?

"And you're… well… her," the stranger said, pointing up through the trees at where the moon hung glowing in the daytime sky.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Dorin did turn on her heel to leave this time. Either this was someone sent by her sister, or they were a babbling fool, and she didn’t currently have the patience for either.

She heard the rustle of movement as she strode away, back around to the front of her cottage. When she stopped to collect her bags, the stranger spoke again.

"Wait! Please don't go,” the called desperately. “I came all this way to find you, I've been so worried about you!"

"I don't know what you’re talking about, I don't know you!" Dorin answered, her frustration apparent in her tone.

"Please, just let me explain," Neamhaí said, hands raised in a placating gesture.

Dorin let out a long-suffering sigh, and made a gesture with her hand, inviting them to continue.

"I am Neamhaí, one of the Beithiraya of the stars. You may use they or he for me; either feels right in this form. I have lived a thousand mortal lifetimes out amongst the stars with my siblings, and most of them I have spent watching you."