Paper Moons Part Six (Patreon)

“How did you come to meet Reese and Elias?” I asked.  Fallen didn’t often get the chance to associate. They were either killed for their leftover grace, or went mad with their cut connection from the Knowing.  The fact that two were living under one roof was one of endless fascination to me and now that the danger had begun to pass, I was curious.

“Reese stopped me from swimming home.”

I frowned. “Swimming home?”

“There is a point in the ocean where the water meets the stars. It is my belief that that is where the Knowing is.  I was trying to swim there, but Reese explained to me that I would never make it. That my body is now more akin to that of a humanoid than a celestial.  He has promised me a boat eventually.”

“Oh.” It was all I could say.  Perhaps the Night Market was different and there was a slight possibility that where the sky and ocean met was the point of the Knowing, but as far as I knew, the was just an endless expanse that went on until you hit land once more.

“You don’t believe me?” A wry smile crossed his face as he looked down, laughing a bit.  The sound of it was soft and felt like a brush against my skin.  “I don’t think Reese does either.” When he lowered himself onto the sofa, it was with a stiffness that I knew his body was still adjusting to. The fluidity of a celestial versus what he was now was probably still taking a toll on his body.

“So he stopped you from swimming,” I said, trying to steer the conversation. “And then brought you back here?”

Gabriel nodded. “He knew what I was. Told me that he lived with another Fallen. I didn’t entirely believe I was one at the time but I’m still here so…” he trailed off shrugging.

“Do you- do you know why you were cast out?” I shouldn’t have asked it. It wasn’t appropriate by any means. But I wondered what someone would have to do to be pushed from their entire species. It had to be horrendous.

“I don’t, actually.” Sitting back into the cushions, he looked out the small window that overlooked the meadow we had just been in. The windowsill was crowded with multicolored glass orbs. The kind that were fished from the ocean.  “I still think that maybe it was a mistake.  Perhaps I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“But wouldn’t the Knowing call you home?” I asked. Immediately, I regretted it. “I’m sorry. You don’t know me and this is all very personal information. I’m prying.”

“It’s alright. It’s refreshing, actually.  I find that people here speak in a strange manner.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is a double meaning to everything that is said.  I do not understand it. Elias claims that you get used to it and you can see lies like fragmented layers of light, but I have yet to truly have a long enough conversation with someone to practice that ability.  But I do like hearing truth in your voice. You seem curious about me for curiosities sake. Not for the sake of using me.”

Turning, I clasped my hands in my lap.  “I don’t get to talk with people often,” I confessed. “When they see that I am a Graceling they tend to get that look in their eyes.”

A flinch lashed across his face as his bodies became stiff. “I am familiar with that look. The one that says they are trying to weigh the morality of using you or not.”

I nodded. “Everyone is so hungry, though. Much hungrier than I think they let on. At least the people native to the Night Market are. The ones who are just here traveling seem a bit better off but I tend to stay away from those areas as well.  Crowds of people make me a bit nervous.  They’re too unpredictable.  I can’t control my surroundings and keep me safe when the room gets too large.”

I paused.  I had heard before that celestials had that way about them. That you would open up to them without meaning it. It was something about the comfort of the Knowing. It was a curiosity that even though Gabriel had fallen, he still held on to some of that old comfort. It sunk into my bones like a warm blanket and had me gravitating towards him.

Clearing my throat, I tucked my hair behind my ears.  “So you came back here,” I said, wondering when we had gotten so off track.  “It is probably what has saved you.”

“Having Elias help me navigate what he has already gone through has been helpful.  I do not think I would be alive today without them. My hope is to become stronger and make my way back to the Knowing. Make my case for Elias.  I think his fall was a mistake as well.  He only wished to help Reese.  Do good.  I do not see why that would make him an outcast.”

I frowned. “That is odd.”

“Either way, I do thank you for continuing to stay with us, Graceling.  I am unsure yet what your presence will mean for me but I am hopeful that I can grow stronger.”

“To be honest, I am unsure as well. You will be the first Fallen I have actually helped. I know that Gracelings are technically made for miracles, but your people have all succumbed to madness before I’ve been able to ease their minds.”

“The idea behind your grace is to just ease the transition, is it not?”

“That is what I’ve come to know. But I have never seen proof of it. It is just a vague idea that I for some reason hold true. As if I now come with a set of rules that I have memorized but can’t quite remember where I heard them from.”

“How did you get your grace?”  His eyes ticked down to my hand.

I rubbed my thumb across the smooth area of skin, the grace feeling like glass.  “I believed,” I told him with a small smile.  “You should get some more rest.  I am going to straighten up this house.  All of you obviously don’t know how to keep a home.” The place was a mess.  Clutter was piled in every corner and the dishes

“I don’t think you should do that,” Gabriel warned with absolute seriousness. “Reese is particular.”

I laughed a little.  “I’m sure it will be fine.”

It wasn’t.

When Reese woke the next morning I had flour in my hair, several dishes were swept into the waste bin, and I couldn’t get the water to shut off in the sink.

“What the fuck did you do?”

“I’m sorry!” I shrieked as the water began spraying everywhere, dampening the counters and forming small puddles throughout the room.  “I was trying to clean up. As a thank you.”

“You’re doing a bad job of it,” he told me. Walking over he twisted the contraption on the sink several times over and turned the water off. Then, slowly, he observed the kitchen.  When his eyes landed on me, soaked and pasty, I couldn’t meet his gaze.  “How?” was all he ended up saying.

“I was trying to wash the dishes,” I said with a small sniffle.

“Generally, washing the dishes means you don’t break them.”

“I know. I’m sorry. They were just so fragile.”

“They were clay.”

I clasped my hands in front of me, biting at my lower lip until blood was drawn.  It was then I heard Reese sigh.

“Just go sit at the table and try not to move.”

I nodded. “I may have broken the chair legs.”

“How?”

I didn’t answer him. I didn’t even know how.

Choosing the sturdiest chair I settled myself down, feeling the cakey paste of flour in my hair.  My hair had always been on the mousier side. Not the red of my mothers like I had always wished. I wondered if I could add dye to the paste and make it a little deeper and…

“Do I even want to ask what you were trying to make?”

My eyes snapped upwards at the bowl that Reese was holding. “Breakfast?”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head. “Alright, Graceling. Alright. It’s apparent you need more help than just some protection.  What’s on the agenda today for you then? We need to figure out what all it is you need to do to start helping Gabriel. And along the way maybe give you a lesson or two into cooking.”

[[(Practical) I need to go get some herbs from the local apothecary]]

[[(Pious) I need to go to the nearest temple and pray for guidance in how to proceed]]

[[(Hesitant) I need a few things, but we might have to steal them…]]